HE 


o- 


PROCEEDINGS 


ANNUAL  MEETING 


WESTERN  RAIL-ROAD  CORPORATION, 


MARCH    12,   1840. 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF    THE 


ANNUAL  MEETING 


OF   THE 


WESTERN  RAIL-ROAD  CORPORATION, 


HELD,  BY  ADJOURNMENT,  IN  THE  CITY  OF  BOSTON, 


MARCH    12,     184O, 


INCLUDING 


THE    REPORT 


OF   THE 


COMMITTEE    OF   INVESTIGATION 


APPOINTED  BY  THE  STOCKHOLDERS. 


BOSTON:       , 

BUTTON    AND   WENTWORTH'S    PRINT 

1840. 


WESTERN  RAIL-ROAD  CORPORATION. 


At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Western  Rail-Road  Corpo- 
ration, held  by  adjournment  in  the  city  of  Boston, 
March  12,  1840. 

The  committee  of  the  stockholders,  appointed  at  the  pre- 
ceding meeting,  to  examine  the  treasurer's  accounts,  to 
investigate  the  affairs  of  the  corporation,  to  make  any 
suggestions  which  they  might  deem  useful,  and  to 
select  candidates  for  directors  on  the  part  of  the  private 
stockholders,  for  the  ensuing  year,  submitted  the  fol- 
lowing 

REPORT.  I 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  the  West- 
ern Rail-road  Corporation,  held  in  the  city  of  Boston, 
February  12th,  1840,  a  committee  was  appointed,  con- 
sisting of  Messrs.  Wm.  H.  Gardner,  Wm.  Lawrence,  Fran- 
cis Jackson,  Charles  Stearns,  of  Springfield,  Francis  How, 
of  Brookfield,  Stephen  Fairbanks,  Isaac  C.  Pray,  John  P. 
Thorndike,  Daniel  Hammond,  Jonathan  Chapman,  Na- 
than Carruth,  Mark  Healy  and  E.  H.  Derby,  "  to  exam- 


M92936 


ine  the  treasurer's  accounts ;  to  investigate  the  affairs  of 
the  corporation  ;  to  make  any  suggestions  they  may  deem 
useful :  to  select  candidates  for  directors  on  the  part  of  the 
stockholders  the  ensuing  year,  and  to  report  at  an  ad- 
journed meeting  on  Thursday,  the  12th  of  March." 

A  quorum  of  the  Committee  having  been  convened,  and 
organized  by  the  choice  of  Stephen  Fairbanks  as  Chair- 
man, and  E.  H.  Derby,  as  Secretary,  and  it  appearing, 
that  Messrs.  Wm.  H.  Gardner,  Jonathan  Chapman,  Francis 
Jackson  and  Francis  How,  declined  serving,  the  vacan- 
cies were  filled  by  the  choice  of  Messrs.  E.  H.  Robbins, 
Thos.  C.  Smith,  A.  T.  Lowe,  and  Freeman  Walker,  of 
Brookfield.  Thus  organized,  the  Committee  proceeded 
to  the  execution  of  the  important  trust  confided  to  them, 
and  ask  leave  to  report. 

That,  by  a  sub-committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Daniel 
Hammond,  Mark  Healy  and  Nathan  Carruth,  the  Treasu- 
rer's accounts  were  examined  with  great  minuteness  and 
care,  and  a  detailed  report  made,  which  is  herewith  sub- 
mitted. The  books  and  accounts  of  this  officer,  are  ex- 
ceedingly voluminous,  and  are  kept  in  a  style  that  is  worthy 
of  high  commendation.  They  may  well  be  retained  as  a 
text-book  for  his  successors,  or  for  any  corporation  which 
may  hereafter  be  formed,  for  the  promotion  of  any  great 
internal  improvement. 

This  report  was  unanimously  accepted. 

A  sub-committee  was  also  appointed,  consisting  of 
Messrs.  A.  T.  Lowe,  Thos.  C.  Smith,  and  Freeman 
Walker,  to  examine  the  records  of  the  directors,  kept  by 
Ellis  Gray  Loring,  Esq.  the  clerk  of  the  corporation ;  their 
report  is  in  the  following  words. 


"  Your  Committee  have  carefully  examined  both  volumes 
of  the  records,  but  more  particularly  the  one  which  con- 
tains the  acts  of  the  directors,  by  the  marginal  titles  which 
express,  in  a  word,  the  general  character  of  the  record  on 
the  body  of  the  page  ;  and  have  carefully  read  in  detail, 
those  portions  of  the  records,  which,  from  their  titles, 
were  supposed  to  contain  matters  of  the  greatest  interest 
and  importance.  These  records  are  kept  in  a  remarkably 
neat,  and,  so  far  as  the  Committee  can  judge,  in  a  very 
accurate  manner.  The  amount  of  salaries  voted  to  the 
President  of  the  corporation,  to  the  agent  and  sub-agents, 
to  the  treasurer  and  engineers,  are,  as  nearly  as  they  re- 
collect, in  exact  agreement  with  the  statement  made  to 
the  stockholders'  committee,  at  one  of  their  meetings,  by 
the  agent.  The  meetings  of  the  directors  have  been  fre- 
quent, arid  very  fully  attended  ;  and  the  records  show,  to 
the  full  satisfaction  of  this  committee,  that  their  efforts  to 
promote  the  interests  of  the  stockholders,  have  been  un- 
tiring and  discreet.  The  many  interesting  reports  of  the 
sub-committees,  from  the  Board  of  Directors,  which  we 
found  in  these  records,  having  relation  to  the  various  ex- 
penditures, incurred  in  grading  the  road,  in  the  purchase 
of  iron,  of  timber,  and  in  an  especial  manner,  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  depots  throughout  the  line,  convince  us 
that  they  have  taken  no  important  step  hastily,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  they  have,  to  the  best  of  their  ability, 
exercised  a  prudent  deliberation  to  enter  into  such  ar- 
rangements only,  as  would  best  secure  the  greatest  good 
of  this  jrreat  enterprise." 

In  the  further  prosecution  of  the  duties  of  your  Com- 
mittee, it  was  deemed  important  to  enter  into  the  most 


6 

rigid  investigation  of  the  services  performed  by,  and  the 
salaries  paid  to,  the  president,  treasurer,  general  agent, 
clerk,  and  sub-agents  of  the  corporation.  Also  of  the  va- 
rious foreign  and  local  contracts  which  such  a  gigantic 
work  rendered  it  indispensable  to  be  made.  Your  Com- 
mittee have  given  their  deliberate  consideration  to  the 
proposition  which  has  been  made  in  the  Legislature,  that 
the  number  of  directors  should  be  so  arranged,  that  a  ma- 
jority of  them  may  be  chosen  on  the  part  of  the  Common- 
wealth, also  to  the  facts  and  arguments  which  have  been 
adduced  by  the  stockholders,  in  testimony  of  the  pecu- 
niary benefits,  Avhich,  it  is  believed,  would  result  to  the 
corporation  by  a  reduction  of  the  charges  for  the  trans- 
portation of  passengers  and  goods  over  the  road ;  and  to 
such  other  considerations  as  have  suggested  themselves  to 
the  minds  of  the  Committee.  It  seems  to  the  Committee, 
that  in  order  rightly  to  appreciate  the  importance  of  the 
services  of  the  officers,  the  magnitude  of  the  undertaking 
which  they  have  been  deputed  to  take  under  their  super- 
vision, must  be  clearly  and  distinctly  known  ;  each  mem- 
ber of  your  Committee  probably,  in  common  with  the 
stockholders,  have  some  general  information  respecting 
this  great  work  of  internal  improvement,  but  they  are  free 
to  Say,  that  the  investigation  they  have  made  has  satisfied 
them,  that  no  person  is  capable,  without  such  examina- 
tion, of  estimating  the  labor  the  directors  are  called  upon 
to  perform. 

An  enterprise  which  will  require  the  disbursement  of 
more  than  four  millions  of  dollars,  and  the  success  or  fail- 
ure of  which  must  greatly  affect  the  interest  of  every  in- 
dividual in  the  Commonwealth,  either  directly  or  remote- 


ly,  is  one  which  should  not  be  placed  in  the  hands  of 
men  who  have  not  given  the  most  unequivocal  proofs  of 
their  ability,  integrity  and  industry.  Thus  far  the  corpo- 
ration has  been  singularly  fortunate  in  selecting  gentle- 
men for  their  principal  officers  whose  whole  lives,  as  well 
as  their  successful  labor  in  the  work  entrusted  to  them, 
furnish  ample  evidence  that  its  confidence  has  not  been 
misplaced. 

It  seems  to  your  Committee,  that  it  cannot  be  necessary 
to  speak  more  particularly  of  the  directors  generally,  but 
only  of  the  president,  treasurer,  and  general  agent,  who 
it  has  been  averred  have  received  too  high  salaries,  which 
salaries,  it  should  be  distinctly  understood,  have  been 
established  by  the  board,  consisting  of  nine  members. 

The  president  has  had  a  salary  of  $1000  per  year,  and 
a  grant  of  $1000  the  last  year,  for  extra  duties  required 
of  him. 

The  treasurer's  salary  the  first  year  was  $2000,  for  the 
second  and  third  years  $1500  each,  he  paying  all  his  ex- 
penses ;  the  fourth  year,  in  consequence  of  the  great  in- 
crease of  labor  arising  from  the  negotiation  of  foreign  ex- 
change, and  the  management  of  the  sinking  fund,  he  has 
received  a  salary  of  $1200  ;  pay  for  clerk  hire,  $1100; 
office  rent,  $250  ;  and  as  commissioner  of  sinking  fund) 
$250  ;  making  a  total  of  $2800. 

The  general  agent  has  had  a  salary  of  $3000  per  an- 
num, he  paying  his  own  expenses,  and  the  last  year  a 
grant  has  been  made  of  $1000,  to  reimburse  his  ex- 
penses. 

The  president  has  for  the  last  20  or  30  years  been  one 
of  our  most  enterprising  and  successful  merchants,  distin- 


8 

guished  for  his  integrity  and  punctuality,  as  well  in  Eu- 
rope as  in  this  country.  So  too  with  the  treasurer,  and 
general  agent ;  each  in  his  profession,  stands  unsurpassed 
in  those  distinguishing  traits  which  elevate  the  character 
of  a  nation.  A  recent  writer  on  commercial  integrity 
has  said,  "  a  merchant  should  never  forget  that  he  holds 
the  character  of  his  country  as  well  as  his  own  in  sacred 
trust."  This  remark  will  apply  with  equal  force  to  other 
professions. 

Can  the  benefits  be  estimated,  which  have  and  will  re- 
sult to  this  corporation,  from  the  services  of  those  whose 
experience  in  disbursing  money  and  financiering  general- 
ly is  so  well  known  ?  Is  it  not  true,  that  the  contracts 
for  the  materials  used  in  the  construction  of  the  road, 
and  labor  performed,  as  well  as  the  amount  paid  for  land 
damages,  have  been  as  low,  if  not  lower,  than  upon  any 
other  similar  work  in  the  United  States  ?  Your  Com- 
mittee believe  this  is  the  fact. 

The  scrip  of  the  State,  which  was  issued  in  aid  of  this 
work,  has  been  readily  taken  by  foreign  capitalists  at  a 
premium,  during  a  time  of  uncommon  depression  in  mon- 
etary affairs,  while  that  of  many  of  our  sister  states  has 
been  sold  at  a  discount  of  from  five  to  fifteen  per  cent., 
this  increased  value  is  to  be  attributed,  it  seems  to  your 
Committeej  as  well  to  the  reputation  for  judgment,  abili- 
ty, and  punctuality  of  the  gentlemen  who  have  given  the 
guarantee  of  their  names  to  the  management  of  this  cor- 
poration, as  to  the  credit  of  our  Commonwealth.*  It  is 
not  to  be  denied  that  many  of  the  stockholders  of  this 
corporation  became  interested  in  the  stock,  not  with  any 

*  See  note  A. 


sanguine  expectations  of  realizing  a  large  income  from 
the  investment,  but  from  the  conviction  that  it  would 
greatly  promote  the  general  interest  of  this  part  of  the 
country,  and  thereby  become  a  private  as  well  as  a  pub- 
lic benefit.  It  is  fortunate  that  we  have  now  amongst  us 
those  whose  public  spirit  at  all  times  keeps  pace  with 
their  means,  but  the  fact  that  this  enterprise  is  mainly 
or  partially  a  public  one  ;  and  that  it  deserves  the  aid 
and  countenance  of  every  friend  to  American  indus- 
try, is  no  reason  why  its  principal  officers  should  be  re- 
quired to  labor  in  season  and  out  of  season,  without  com- 
pensation;  or  for  a  remuneration  that  would  be  entirely 
inadequate  to  the  services  and  responsibility  to  which 
they  are  subjected.  Will  any  man  who  is  possessed  of 
all  the  facts,  say,  that  the  multifarious  duties  of  the 
president  of  this  company,  are  not  worth  more  than  he 
has  ever  received? — duties,  which  the  Committee  take 
leave  to  say  cannot  be  performed  by  any  merchant  without 
greatly  neglecting  his  private  business.  The  duties  of  the 
treasurer,  who  is  also  a  director,  are  very  responsible  and 
laborious.  In  addition  to  keeping  the  books,  and  all  the 
accounts  of  the  corporation,  which  occupies  a  very  large 
part  of  the  time,  from  early  morning  until  late  at  night, 
of  one  of  the  most  able  accountants  in  the  city ;  this  of- 
ficer is  obliged  to  negotiate  all  the  exchange,  by  which 
the  foreign  loans  are  made  available  here.  He  furnishes 
a  commodious  office  for  the  use  of  the  board  of  directors, 
and  is  also  a  commissioner  of  the  sinking  fund.  In  addi- 
tion to  which,  he  has  put  himself  under  good  and  suffi- 
cient bonds  for  the  faithful  keeping  of  funds  of  the  cor- 
poration. For  all  these  services,  (which  it  is  believed 
2 


10 

have  been  performed  to  the  entire  acceptance  of  every 
member  of  this  corporation,)  this  gentleman  has  received 
$2800  per  annum.  With  respect  to  the  general  agent,  Mr. 
Bliss,  also  a  director,  the  great  amount  of  personal  labor 
performed  by  him  no  one  can  correctly  estimate  without 
accurate  investigation.  We  mean  such  services  as  would 
be  performed  by  a  general  agent,  who  is  not  of  the  legal 
profession  ;  in  this  case  the  professional  knowledge  of 
this  gentleman  has  been  of  vast  importance  in  a  pecu- 
niary point  of  view.  It  appeared  in  evidence  before  your 
Committee  that  there  had  been  about  seven  hundred  le- 
gal instruments  drawn  up,  and  executed  by  him  per- 
sonally or  under  his  inspection,  to  prepare  which,  in  ab- 
sence of  this  knowledge,  an  attorney  must  have  been 
employed  at  considerable  expense.  Besides,  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  agent  as  a  sound  and  upright  lawyer,  among 
the  persons  with  whom  contracts  for  land  and  materials 
for  the  construction  of  the  road  have  been  made,  has 
had  the  effect  in  a  remarkable  'degree  to  avoid  expensive 
and  unpleasant  litigation,  which  has  on  every  route  been 
found  one  of  the  most  serious  evils.  It  should  also  be 
borne  in  mind  that  this  gentleman  has  been  compelled  to 
relinquish  entirely  the  business  of  his  profession,  which 
was  very  lucrative,  and  into  which  he  will  not  find  it 
easy  to  reinstate  himself  when  he  leaves  his  present  situ- 
ation. If  the  stockholders  entertain  the  opinion,  that  the 
compensation  of  this  officer,  or  of  either  of  the  officers  be- 
fore alluded  to,  is  too  high,  the  Committee  have  entirely 
mistaken  the  spirit  of  the  gentlemen  who  compose  this 
corporation. 

Your  Committee  are  unanimously  of  opinion,  that  the 


11 

system  early  adopted  by  the  directors,  for  the  construc- 
tion of  the  road,  was  a  judicious  one,  and  well  adapted  to 
secure  the  usefulness  and  durability  of  the  work,  united 
to  great  economy  in  its  construction. 

We  congratulate  the  stockholders  in  having  obtained, 
to  aid  in  the  administration  of  this  system,  engineers  of 
singular  intelligence,  fidelity  and  industry,  in  every  grade 
of  that  department.  From  inquiry  they  are  satisfied,  that 
the  chief  and  resident  engineers  have  discharged  faithful* 
ly,  all  the  duties  which  have  devolved  upon  them ;  and 
although  for  short  periods,  there  has  occasionally  been  a 
deficiency  in  the  number  of  assistant  engineers,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  work  in  hand,  they  find  no  instance  where 
there  has  been  a  greater  number  employed  than  was  re^ 
quired  to  ensure  a  proper  fidelity  and  despatch  in  the 
construction  of  this  great  work.  In  regard  to  the  salaries 
paid  to  the  officers  of  the  different  branches  of  this  de- 
partment, your  Committee  are  satisfied,  from  statistics 
which  they  have  examined,  of  the  compensation  given  by 
the  directors  of  other  roads,  that  the  directors  of  this  cor- 
poration have  been  governed  by  the  same  good  judgment, 
Which  have  marked  all  their  official  acts,  and  with  a  sin- 
gle eye  to  ultimate  results  : — and  it  is  worthy  of  remark 
in  this  connection,  that  it  appeared  in  evidence,  that,  dur- 
ing the  extreme  pressure  in  the  money  market,  which 
has  been  experienced  since  the  commencement  of  the 
road,  every  engagement  has  been  promptly  met,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  contracts  of  the  directors  and  agents. 
The  pecuniary  benefits  that  have  been  derived  by  the 
stockholders,  in  consequence  of  such  punctuality,  which 
has  commanded  the  services  of  sub-agents,  and  the  pur- 


12 

chase  of  the  materials  for  the  road,  at  the  very  lowest 
prices,  will  readily  occur  to  every  reflecting  mind. 

Allusion  having  been  made  by  the  sub-committee,  who 
examined  the  records  of  the  directors,  to  the  clerk  of  the 
corporation,  it  is  proper  to  remark  here,  that  his  salary 
has  been  fixed  at  $ 500  per  annum,  for  his  services  as 
clerk  and  solicitor.  The  duties  of  this  officer,  which  have 
been  explained  in  detail  to  your  Committee,  are  of  a  na- 
ture which  occupy  much  time  and  labor,  and  put  in  re- 
quisition many  legal  acquirements.  The  acceptable  man- 
ner in  which  they  have  been  performed,  entitle  him  to 
high  commendation. 

In  relation  to  the  Commonwealth  having  a  majority  in 
the  Board  of  Directors,  your  Committee  would  remark, 
that  it  is.  a  subject  that  demands  the  serious  attention  of 
the  stockholders.  The  order  which  was  submitted  in 
the  Senate,  on  the  subject,  and  which  is  now  under  con- 
sideration by  the  legislative  committee,  is  unconditional 
in  its  terms,  and  assumes,  that  the  Legislature  have  the 
right  to  regulate  this  matter,  without  the  assent  of  the 
stockholders.  If  this  be  so,  it  affects  their  interest  most 
essentially,  and  may  reduce  the  value  of  the  entire  pro- 
perty, very  materially.  And  if  it  is  not  so,  the  claim  is 
of  so  important  a  nature,  that  the  error  should  be  at  once 
exposed  :  and  the  relative  rights  of  the  stockholders  and 
the  Commonwealth  be  so  defined  and  understood,  as  to 
put  the  question  at  rest.  The  Western  Rail-road  Corpo- 
ration was  established  by  an  act  passed  March  15th, 
1833,  with  a  capital  of  two  million  of  dollars ;  the  2d 
Sect,  of  this  act,  provided  for  a  government  of  not  less 
than  seven  directors  j  and  the  3d  Sect,  that  the  tolls  may 


13 

be  reduced  at  the  end  of  ten  years,  if  the  nett  income 
amount  to  more  than  ten  per  cent.  ;  and  the  14th  Sect, 
that  the  Commonwealth  may,  after  twenty  years,  pur- 
chase the  road,  by  paying  the  amount  expended,  and  ten 
per  cent,  interest.  Under  this  act,  the  corporation  was 
originally  organized.  By  the  act  of  April  4,  1836,  the 
capital  stock  was  increased  to  three  millions  of  dollars, 
and  a  subscription  of  one  million  of  dollars  to  the  stock, 
was  authorized  on  the  part  of  the  State.  The  3d  Sect, 
provided,  that  the  number  of  directors  should  be  increased 
to  nine  j  three  of  whom  should  be  chosen  by  the  Legisla- 
ture, and  the  residue  by  the  stockholders.  This  act  was 
accepted  by  the  stockholders  in  April  of  the  same  year. 

The  act  of  February  21,  1838,  authorized  the  issuing 
the  scrip  of  the  Commonwealth,  in  aid  of  this  important 
enterprise  to  the  amount  of  two  million,  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  The  5th  Sect,  enacted,  that  "  no  part 
of  said  scrip  shall  be  delivered  to  the  treasurer  of  said 
corporation,  until  said  corporation,  at  an  annual  meeting, 
or  at  a  special  meeting,  duly  notified  for  that  purpose, 
shall  have  assented  to  the  provisions  of  this  act,"  and  it 
also  provides,  for  a  bond  and  mortgage  for  two  million 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  the  entire  road,  with 
its  income,  and  all  the  franchise  and  property  of  the 
corporation,  to  secure  the  performance  of  all  the  con- 
ditions of  said  bond :  with  the  proviso,  that  "  the  Com- 
monwealth shall  not  take  possession  of  said  pledged 
or  mortgaged  property,  unless  for  a  substantial  breach 
of  some  condition  of  said  bond."  The  act  of  March 
23d,  1839,  authorized  a  further  loan  of  the  credit  of 
the  Commonwealth,  for  twelve  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars. Sect.  4  enacted,  that  it  should  not  take  effect  until 


14 

the  corporation  should  assent  to  it,  and  that  there  should 
be  another  bond  and  mortgage  of  the  road ;  and  the  stipu- 
lation of  the  preceding  act  was  renewed,  that  the  Com- 
monwealth should  not  take  possession  under  the  mort- 
gages, unless  for  a  substantial  breach  of  the  conditions  of 
the  bond.  Sect.  5  provided,  that  the  Commonwealth 
might  at  any  time  purchase  the  franchise  and  property  of 
the  corporation,  by  paying  the  amount  of  the  outlay,  and 
seven  per  cent,  interest.  The  6th  Sect,  provided,  that 
four  directors  might  be  chosen  on  the  part  of  the  Com- 
monwealth, arid  the  residue  by  the  stockholders.  This 
act  was  also  accepted  by  the  stockholders. 

These  are  the  various  provisions  which  bear  upon  the 
question  under  consideration  : — -and  they  would  seem  to 
show,  beyond  all  doubt,  in  the  minds  of  your  Committee, 
that  the  Legislature  has  not  reserved  to  itself  the  right 
which  is  assumed,  in  the  proposition  contained  in  the 
order  submitted  to  the  Senate.  In  view  of  those  provi- 
sions of  law,  which  are  to  be  taken,  as  the  terms  of  con- 
tract between  the  stockholders  and  the  State,  it  is  confi- 
dently maintained,  that  the  Legislature  have  bound  them- 
selves not  to  interfere  with  the  control  of  the  corporation 
property,  except  upon  one  of  the  following  conditions, 
viz.  : 

1st.  That  there  has  been  a  substantial  breach  of  some 
condition  of  the  bond. 

2d.  That  the  Commonwealth  desires  to  take  possession 
of  the  property  and  franchise  of  the  Corporation  by  pur- 
chase, according  to  the  terms  of  the  act  of  1839,  viz., 
by  paying  the  amount  expended,  and  seven  per  cent,  in- 
terest thereon. 


15 

The  Legislature  has  the  same  right  to  appoint  all  the 
directors,  as  arbitrarily  to  assume  the  appointment  of  a  ma- 
jority ;  arid  surely,  such  an  act  would  be  a  direct  violation 
of  the  express  promise,  that  the  Commonwealth  should 
not  take  possession,  except  for  a  breach  of  the  bond.  It 
is  true,  that  there  is  a  general  power  of  amendment  or 
repeal,  of  all  charters  reserved  in  the  Legislature.  But 
this  power  cannot  be  so  extended,  as  to  justify  an  arbi- 
trary exercise  of  control  over  private  property.  As  well 
might  that  body  assume  to  appoint  all  the  other  officers 
of  the  corporation,  fix  their  compensation,  and  regulate 
their  duties.  The  injustice,  as  well  as  illegality  of  such 
a  course,  may  be  seen  at  once  by  reflecting,  that  direc- 
tors appointed  exclusively  by  the  Legislature,  would  in 
no  manner  be  responsible  to  the  stockholders,  and  feel  no 
particular  interest  in  preserving  their  rights.  A  desire  to 
gain  popular  favor,  might  induce  them  to  take  such  a 
course,  as  would  forfeit  the  bond,  and  thus  at  once  throw 
the  entire  property  and  franchise  into  the  hands  of  the 
State,  according  to  the  terms  of  the  charter.  To  your 
Committee,  however,  there  does  not  seem  to  be  the  least 
ground,  for  this  extraordinary  claim,  and  it  is  believed, 
that  among  intelligent  and  reflecting  members  of  the 
Legislature,  any  other  opinion  is  not  generally  entertained. 
The  State  of  Massachusetts,  will  hardly  set  such  an  ex- 
ample of  the  violation  of  private  rights,  as  the  consumma- 
tion of  the  plan  proposed  in  the  Senate  would  exhibit. 
Yet,  as  such  a  measure  has  been  more  than  once  sug- 
gested, it  is  due  alike  to  the  State  and  to  the  stockhold- 
ers, to  protest  against  its  adoption.  As  to  the  expediency 
of  the  stockholders  giving  their  consent  to  any  such 


16 

course,  as  long  as  they  feel  competent  to  manage  their 
own  affairs,  and  to  select  competent  directors  and  agents 
to  act  in  their  behalf,  it  will  scarcely  be  necessary  so  far 
to  declare  their  incapacity  as  to  ask  the  Legislature  to  do 
it  for  them. 

Among  the  duties  confided  to  your  Committee,  is  that 
of  selecting  candidates  for  directors,  on  the  part  of  the 
stockholders  for  the  ensuing  year.  In  view  of  all  the 
facts  which  are  here  presented  to  the  stockholders,  so 
highly  honorable  to  each  member  of  the  present  board, 
it  is  not  deemed  necessary  to  do  more  than  present  their 
names  for  re-election.  But  we  feel  it  our  duty  as  stock- 
holders, as  well  as  members  of  a  committee,  to  say,  that 
we  shall  consider  it  a  serious  misfortune,  and  one  that 
will  greatly  embarrass  and  retard  the  future  operation  of 
the  work,  if  the  present  board  do  not  consent  to  a  re- 
election. And  your  committee  would  further  remark, 
that  they  are  satisfied,  after  mature  deliberation  upon  the 
facts  presented  to  them,  that  the  treasurer  and  general 
agent  may  each  hold  the  office  of  director  with  great  ad- 
vantage to  the  corporation.  , 

The  attention  of  your  committee  has  been  inciden- 
tally called,  to  a  difference  of  opinion  that  occurred  in 
the  Board  of  Directors  of  1837,  in  relation  to  an  account 
of  Mr.  Bliss,  one  of  the  directors,  for  professional  as  well 
as  official  services  performed  by  him,  in  the  winter  of 
1836,  prior  to  his  appointment  as  agent ;  which  account 
had  been  audited,  and  settled,  as  are  all  other  claims 
against  the  corporation.  From  all  the  facts  which  have 
been  developed  before  your  Committee,  by  oral  state- 
ments, and  documentary  evidence,  they  are  unani- 


17 

mously  of  opinion,  that  the  charge  was  a  proper  one, 
and  quite  as  low  as  any  one,  capable  of  performing  the 
singularly  important  services  which  he  rendered  the  cor- 
poration, could  be  expected  to  make ;  and  while  the  Com- 
mittee duly  appreciate  the  magnanimity  which  induced 
Mr.  Bliss  to  refund  about  two-thirds  of  the  amount  which 
had  been  paid  him,  for  the  sake  of  peace  and  harmony 
among  a  board  of  directors  who  had  taken  upon  them- 
selves the  execution  of  such  important  duties;  they  feel 
it  due  to  him  to  say,  that  in  doing  so  he  did  not  in  the 
least  degree  compromit  his  honor  or  self-respect. 

Your  Committee,  after  disposing  of  these  branches  of 
their  duties,  directed  their  attention  to  the  important  sub- 
ject of  the  revenues  of  the  rail-road.  It  was  conceded  by 
all  who  came  before  them,  that  this  great  avenue  of  com- 
merce had  been  constructed  with  signal  ability,  and  in 
the  most  substantial  and  permanent  manner  ;  but  a  doubt 
was  expressed  by  some,  as  to  the  income  it  would  re- 
ceive, and  a  suggestion  made,  that  the  patronage  it  en- 
joyed was  not  commensurate  with  the  hopes  of  its  early 
advocates. 

Your  Committee  were  aware  that  this  might  be  ascrib- 
ed in  part,  to  the  general  depression  of  business,  and  the 
unusual  snows  of  the  past  winter  ;  but  after  investigating 
the  data  collected  before  this  enterprise  was  begun,  the 
returns  of  other  rail-roads,  and  listening  to  a  great  variety 
of  evidence,  your  Committee  found  other  causes  for  the 
apparent  deficiency  which,  in  their  opinion,  deserve  seri- 
ous consideration.  In  July,  1835,  the  executive  commit- 
tee of  surveys,  of  which  George  Bliss,  Esq.  was  chairman, 
made  a  report,  founded  upon  returns  from  all  the  towns 
3 


18 

within  the  influence  of  the  Western  Rail-road,  which  was 
published,  extensively  circulated,  and  doubtless  led  many 
individuals  to  subscribe  for  shares.  By  this,  it  appears 
that  the  number  of  passengers  who  passed  annually  be- 
tween Worcester  and  the  Connecticut,  was  over  50,000, 
and  the  tons  of  freight  annually  received  or  sent  to  mar- 
ket from  the  towns  situate  on  the  line  of  the  rail-road,  in 
the  valley  of  the  Connecticut,  and  the  county  of  Berk- 
shire, were  no  less  than  148,874.  The  report  estimated 
that  before  an  engine  or  car  should  run  west  of  the  Con- 
necticut, the  section  between  Worcester  and  Springfield 
would  command  annually,  at  least  55,510  passengers  and 
50,547  tons  of  freight,  without  any  allowance  for  the 
great  impulse  to  commerce  usually  given  by  rail-roads. 
In  making  this  computation  it  may,  however,  be  proper 
to  observe,  that  the  rate  assumed  for  each  passenger  is 
half  a  dollar  less  than  the  charge  since  adopted.  Your 
Committee,  after  diligent  inquiry,  see  no  reason  to  dis- 
trust the  accuracy  of  the  data  upon  which  this  report  was 
based.  They  are  satisfied  that  the  passengers  and  freight 
exist,  are  constantly  increasing,  and  may  be  easily  concil- 
iated to  the  Western  Rail-road. 

They  have  ascertained,  that  twenty  years  since,  when 
steamboat  navigation  was  in  its  infancy,  the  trade  of  the 
Connecticut  valley  was  principally  with  Boston. 

As  the  steamboats  gradually  advanced,  first  to  New 
Haven,  thence  to  Hartford  and  Springfield,  and  the  navi- 
gation of  the  river  was  improved,  a  new  current  was  giv- 
en to  trade,  and  the  facilities  of  intercourse  and  diminish- 
ed charges  gradually  diverted  it  to  New  York  ;  so  that  at 
least  four-fifths  of  the  traffic  of  the  entire  valley  of  the 


19 

river  is  now  with  the  latter  city,  and  such  are  the  facili- 
ties of  communication,  that  produce  is  conveyed  from 
Springfield  to  New  York,  165  miles,  for  $3J,  and  goods 
sent  back  to  Springfield  from  that  city  for  $4J,  per  ton. 
During  the  last  season,  passengers  were  transported  be* 
tween  New  York  and  Springfield  by  steamboats,  for  $3 
each,  and  your  Committee  are  advised  that  a  profitable 
business  may  be  done  by  transporting  them  between  these 
points  in  steamers,  at  even  a  lower  price. 

Your  Committee  have  compared  these  rates  with  those 
established  upon  the  Western  Rail-road,  and  find  the  avr 
erage  charge  for  freight,  between  Boston  and  Springfield, 
to  be  $6  a  ton,  and  the  charge  for  passengers  to  be  $3f . 

And  it  is  perfectly  obvious,  that  a  country  trader  who 
goes  with  a  ton  of  produce  from  Springfield  to  New  York, 
instead  of  coming  to  Boston,  and  returns  with  a  ton  of 
goods,  although  he  travels  130  miles  further,  saves  six 
dollars  on  the  way. 

While  your  Committee  are  aware  that  the  rail-road 
possesses  some  advantages  over  the  river  and  the  sound, 
that  insurance  may  be  saved,  and  greater  despatch  secured 
upon  the  former,  that  some  modes  of  conveyance  from 
Springfield  to  New  York  are  more  expensive  than  others, 
they  feel  persuaded  that  business  cannot  be  recalled  to  its 
old  channels  while  this  disparity  of  charges  exists ;  that 
as  certainly  as  the  river  flows  downwards,  will  trade  seek 
the  cheapest  channels,  and  that  it  must  continue  to  flow 
with  a  strong  current  to  the  southward,  until  it  can  find 
an  equally  cheap  outlet  to  the  eastward. 

But  your  Committee  find  nothing  in  this  to  impair  their 
confidence  in  the  eventual  profits  of  the  Western  Rail- 


20 

road,  for  a  close  investigation  of  facts  has  satisfied  them, 
that  a  train  of  cars  carrying  200  passengers  and  a  train 
of  freight  cars  bearing  at  least  60  tons  of  merchandise, 
may  be  propelled  from  Boston  to  Springfield  for  less  than 
$100  each,  inclusive  of  supervision,  motive  power,  wear 
and  tear  of  the  cars,  engine  and  road,  and  all  incidental 
expenses  ;*  making  an  outlay  of  50  cents  for  each  passen- 
ger, and  but  $1J  for  each  ton  of  merchandise.  Upon 
this  point,  your  engineers,  the  agent  of  the  road,  and  the 
officers  of  other  roads,  all  concur,  and  your  Oommittee 
are  of  opinion,  that  a  charge  not  exceeding  $2  50  for  each 
passenger,  and  $3  75  for  each  ton  of  merchandise,  carried 
between  Boston  and  Springfield,  will  not  only  afford  an 
ample  margin  for  profit,  but  will  control  the  travel  and 
business  of  the  great  valley  of  the  Connecticut,  which 
comprises  so  large  and  so  fertile  a  portion  of  all  New  Eng- 
land. 

But  there  is  another  view  of  this  subject  which  occurs 
to  your  Committee.  To  make  this  section  of  the  rail- 
road productive,  they  believe  its  influence  should  be  ex- 
tended up  and  down  the  Connecticut,  by  a  moderate  rate 
of  fare.  The  numerous  and  flourishing  villages  upon  the 
river,  from  Hartford  to  Windsor,  Vermont,  are  nearly 
equidistant  from  Boston,  and  at  the  rate  proposed  it  is  be- 
lieved they  will  all  pour  in  their  contributions  to  the  rail- 
road, while  the  towns  on  both  sides  of  the  road,  which 
now  support  parallel  lines  of  stages,  will  soon  avail  them- 
selves of  the  superior  attraction  and  advantage  of  the  rail- 
road, and  hasten  to  establish  lateral  lines  to  our  depots, 
and  the  residents  along  the  line,  who  now  use  their  own 

*  See  note  B. 


21 

vehicles  to  travel  and  transact  their  business,  will  find  the 
charges  of  the  rail-road  less  onerous  than  the  expense  of 
provender  for  their  horses,  and  the  wear  and  tear  of  horse 
shoes,  wheel  tire  and  harnesses. 

In  coming,  with  great  unanimity,  to  the  conclusion  at 
which  your  Committee  have  arrived,  they  have  given  due 
weight  to  the  vast  mass  of  evidence  placed  before  them, 
tending  to  show  the  wonderful  effects  of  moderate  charges 
in  increasing  receipts  ;  and  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Bliss,  the 
indefatigable  agent  of  the  company,  for  many  facts  which 
have  an  important  bearing  upon  the  subject* 

And  they  would  advert  to  the  railroads  of  Belgium. 
By  the  official  report  to  the  Ministry,  under  date  of  No- 
vember 26,  1838,  it  appears,  that  they  have  cost  over 
$41,000  per  mile,  or  $5000  per  mile  more  than  the  West- 
ern, that  the  entire  expenses  of  sending  a  train  over  them 
is  $1  5-100  per  mile,  or,  at  least,  5  cents  per  mile,  more 
than  the  cost  upon  the  Western,  that  the  average  charge  for 
passengers  has  been  1  1-10  cent,  per  mile,  equal  to  a 
charge  of  108  cents  between  Springfield  and  Boston,  that 
these  roads,  at  this  very  moderate  charge,  have  afforded 
an  ample  income,  paying  a  fair  interest  upon  the  outlay. 
They  subjoin  the  official  statement  of  receipts  for  1838, 
of  the  rail-road  from  Antwerp  to  Osterid,  a  distance  of 
159  miles. 

17,503  pass'grs  1  class  at  2j  cts.  per  mile  ea.  who  paid  $13,171  18 
215,893  "  2  "  2  "  "  "  8133,475  38 

604,935  "  3  «  1J-  "  "  "  $196,451  07 

1,343,354"        4      "       8  mills.       «  "      $206,68000 

Average  number  to  each  train,  143.     Actual  expense 


22 

of  carrying  each  passenger,  73-100  cents  per  mile,  or  a 
little  less  than  f  of  a  cent  per  mile. 

And  it  may  be  proper  here  to  remark,  that  the  popula- 
tion along  the  line,  from  Boston  to  Albany,  inclusive  of 
those  cities  and  the  adjacent  towns,  will  soon  be  nearly 
as  dense  as  the  population  of  Belgium,  while  the  restless 
and  mercurial  spirit  of  the  Yankee,  renders  him  a  greater 
traveller  than  the  more  quiet  Fleming. 

They  would  also  refer  to  the  rail-road  between  Boston 
and  Salem,  which  carries  6000  passengers  a  week,  a  dis- 
tance of  13£  miles,  and  across  a  ferry,  equal  in  expense  to 
four  miles  more  of  rail-road,  for  the  moderate  charge  of 
half  a  dollar  each.  With  respect  to  this  road,  it  is  a  strik- 
ing fact,  that  the  number  of  passengers  upon  it  is  more 
than  double  that  originally  estimated.  And  it  is  not  easy 
to  account  for  so  remarkable  an  increase,  upon  any  other 
ground  than  the  low  rate  of  fare,  which  is  precisely  one- 
half  the  amount  charged  by  the  stages.  They  would 
also  advert  to  the  rail-road  recently  opened  between  Mar- 
blehead  and  Salem.  A  few  months  since  a  single  coach 
usually  conveyed  the  passengers,  who  rarely  exceeded  a 
dozen  per  day,  at  a  charge  of  25  cents  per  passage.  Since 
the  locomotive  was  set  in  motion,  the  number  at  12J 
cents  each,  has  been  as  high  as  200  a  day. 

Your  Committee  would  notice,  also,  the  vast  increase 
of  passengers  in  steamboats,  upon  the  coast  of  Maine,  the 
North  River  and  the  Sound,  since  the  reduction  of  charges, 
the  astonishing  numbers  that  pass  between  Boston, 
Nahant,  Roxbury,  Charlestown  and  Cambridge,  since  the 
establishment  of  cheap  steamboats  and  omnibuses  j  they 
would  advert,  also,  to  the  striking  results  which  have  at- 


tended  the  reduction  of  postages,  of  the  price  of  tickets 
for  concerts  and  theatres,  and  of  the  cost  of  luxuries,  to 
the  extension  of  insurance  at  low  rates  of  premium,  4o 
the  wide  and  increasing  circulation  of  the  penny  press,  to 
the  wonderful  growth  of  the  ice  trade,  which,  under  a 
system  of  low  charges,  has  so  expanded,  that  it  adds  an- 
nually, 30,000  tons  to  the  exports  of  Boston,  and  supplies 
at  least  100  sail  of  ships  with  cargoes,*  and  more  partic- 
ularly to  the  great  increase  of  the  revenue  of  the  New 
York  canals,  now  amounting  to  $1,600,000  per  annum, 
yielding  a  net  income  to  the  State  of  $800,000,  and  to 
the  gain  in  the  aggregate  receipts,  of  these  canals,  which 
has  attended  three  successive  reductions  of  the  tolls. 
They  would  also  call  your  attention  to  the  voluntary  re- 
duction of  thirty  per  cent,  in  the  rate  of  passage  between 
England  and  America,  recently  made  by  the  Great  West- 
ern, to  the  policy  of  the  intelligent  and  sagacious  mana- 
gers of  the  Boston  and  Norwich  rail-road,  who  are  now 
opening  with  most  encouraging  auspices,  at  the  moderate 
rate  of  $3  per  passage,  $5  per  ton  of  freight  from  Boston 
to  Norwich ;  rates  which  average  20  per  cent,  less  than 
the  present  charges  upon  the  Western  Rail-road ;  and  they 
would  not  omit  to  remind  you  of  the  general  decline  of 
prices  throughout  the  country,  and  the  general  disposition 
to  economize. 

As  rumors  have  been  afloat  with  respect  to  an  experi- 
ment tried  upon  the  Worcester  Rail-road,  and  some  few 
individuals  have  cited  it  as  a  proof  of  the  impolicy  of  a 
reduction,  your  Committee  would  state,  that  in  December 
1836,  the  rate  for  passengers  was  advanced  from  $1,50  to 

«  See  note  C. 


24 

$2,  and  again  reduced  to  the  original  price,  in  May,  1839. 
To  give  you  an  idea  of  the  result,  they  cite  the  return  of 
the  number  of  passengers  on  the  Worcester  Rail-road,  for 
four  successive  years. 


1836.  Rate,  $1J  No.  of  passengers,  78,088 

1837.  "  $2  "  61,666 

1838.  "  $2  "  56,016 

1839.  «  $1$  two  thirds  of  the  year,  76,230 

They  would  further  cite  the  receipts  of  the  Worcester 
Rail-road,  from  passengers  in  the  2d  six  months,  of  5  suc- 
cessive years  ;  they  select  these  periods  for  comparison, 
because  it  must  be  obvious,  that  the  full  effects  of  the 
advance,  at  the  close  of  1836,  and  the  reduction  in  the 
spring  of  1839,  would  not  be  perceptible  for  several 
months  thereafter. 

RECEIPTS. 

1835.  July  1  to  Dec.  31,  rate  $1  J,  receipt  for  pass'grs,  $72,912 

1836.  "  "  "  $1£  «  76,187 

1837.  "  "  "  $2  "  65,643 

1838.  "  "  "  $2  "  66,077 

1839.  "  "  "  $l£  "  72,021 


And  your  Committee  would  suggest,  that,  although  a 
part  of  the  deficit,  during  the  season  of  high  charges,  may 
be  ascribed  to  the  depression  of  business,  yet  another  fact 
stands  out  in  bold  relief,  and  is  not  to  be  disregarded,  viz. 
that,  during  each  of  the  years  above  cited,  the  receipts 
from  freight  were  progressive,  showing  a  constant  increase 
of  traffic.* 

*  See  note  D. 


25 

While  upon  this  subject,  they  would  suggest  that  time 
is  always  requisite  to  develope  the  effects  of  a  reduction. 
It  requires  time  to  diffuse  information,  to  change  the 
course  of  trade,  to  form  new  connexions,  to  open  lateral 
and  continuous  lines.  A  little  time  must  elapse  before 
the  community  will  discard  their  own  vehicles  and  horses, 
before  existing  lines  of  stages  and  freight  waggons  will 
be  diverted  to  other  routes,  rendered  more  lucrative  by 
the  rail-road. 

It  is  also  proper  to  suggest,  that  although  the  general 
effect  of  an  advance  of  charge  is  a  reduction  of  receipts, 
yet  there  may  be,  where  there  is  little  competition,  an 
apparent  gain  for  a  few  months,  from  an  advance,  so  re- 
luctant are  the  community  to  change  their  habits  or  fore- 
go the  advantages  of  rail-roads  ;  but  your  Committee 
can  find  no  evidence  tending  to  show  a  permanent  gain 
from  an  advance ;  have  found  nothing  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree to  impair  their  confidence  in  the  measures  they  re- 
commend, and  feel  persuaded  that  the  experience  of  a 
year  will  carry  conviction  to  the  most  incredulous. 

And  even  if  your  Committee  had  found  any  evidence 
that  high  charges  were  as  favorable  to  income  as  moder- 
ate rates,  would  it  be  proper  for*  them  to  arrest  by  such 
charges,  the  thousands  whose  means  permit  them  to 
travel  only  when  they  can  travel  cheap  ?  Should  not  a 
public  enterprise  like  ours,  which  is  to  unite  the  great 
outlet  of  the  West  with  the  capital  of  Massachusetts, 
which  connects  not  only  with  a  navigable  river  dividing 
the  State,  but  with  a  system  of  rail-roads  pervading  near- 
ly every  part  of  it.*  An  enterprise  conceived  in  a  liber- 

*  See  note  E. 


26 

al  spirit,  cherished  by  the  favor  of  the  whole  community, 
designed  to  develope  the  resources  and  promote  the  com- 
merce of  the  entire  State,  be  guided  by  a  liberal  spirit, 
and  requite,  as  far  as  may  be,  to  the  whole  people,  the 
favors  it  has  received  from  them  ? 

And  when  your  Committee  recur  to  the  attractions  of 
our  sister  city  of  New  York,  and  their  extensive  influ- 
ence, to  the  almost  magic  effects  of  low  rates  in  creating 
business  and  income  ;  when  they  consider  how  widely 
such  rates  diffuse  the  benefits  of  commerce  among  all 
classes  of  our  citizens  ;  when  they  consider  the  impor- 
tance of  sustaining  the  credit  of  the  State  and  the  great 
cause  of  internal  improvements,  and  recur  to  the  leading 
object  of  the  earliest,  most  persevering  and  most  nume- 
ous  friends  of  the  road,  they  feel  that  they  have  every 
cause  to  be  satisfied  with  their  decision. 

Your  Committee  in  the  course  of  their  investigations, 
find  nothing  to  impair  their  confidence  in  the  eventual 
prosperity  of  this  great  enterprise.  As  respects  the  sec- 
tion already  finished,  they  are  impressed  with  the  belief 
that  the  moderate  rates  they  recommend  will  soon  con- 
ciliate to  it  a  business  equal  to  50,000  tons  of  goods  and 
at  least  60,000  passengers  per  annum,  to  be  derived  en- 
tirely from  the  resources  of  the  rail-road  this  side  of  the 
Connecticut,  and  increasing  at  a  rate  not  less  than  10  per 
cent,  a  year ;  but  when  this  great  avenue  of  commerce 
shall  consummate  its  union  with  the  canals  and  rail-ways 
of  New  York,  and  become,  as  it  soon  will,  a  section  of  a 
continuous  line  from  Boston  to  Buffalo,  or  connecting  as 
it  will  with  the  ocean  steam  packets,  the  steamers  of  the 
lakes  and  the  canals  of  the  West ;  when  it  shall  become 


27 

part  of  a  continuous  line  from  England  to  Cincinnati, 
Louisville  and  St.  Louis,  as  well  the  most  direct,  expedi- 
tious, cheap,  and  least  fatiguing  route  between  those 
great  marts  of  commerce  j  its  revenues,  at  moderate  rates 
of  charges,  must  receive  a  vast  accession. 

When  your  Committee  consider,  that  during  the  trav- 
elling season,  at  least  15,000  persons  weekly  ascend  and 
descend  the  Hudson,  that  at  least  30  packets  and  tran- 
sient vessels  are  plying  between  Boston  and  Albany,  be- 
sides vast  numbers  which  bear  the  produce  of  the  West 
from  New  York,  that  at  this  moment  more  than  100,000 
barrels  of  flour  are  annually  boated  up  the  Connecticut 
above  Springfield,  that  in  the  hills  of  Berkshire  the  Wes- 
tern rail-road  intersects  quarries  of  lime  and  marble,  which 
will  supply  the  valley  of  Connecticut  and  the  entire 
country  bordering  on  the  road,  that  as  soon  as  this  great 
artery  of  the  State  is  finished,  and  the  sections  between 
it  and  Buffalo  are  complete,  as  it  is  confidently  believed 
they  soon  will  be,  a  passenger  may  pass  almost  without 
fatigue  in  eleven  hours  from  Boston  to  Albany,  in  thirty 
hours  from  Boston  to  Buffalo,  in  six  hours  more  to  Erie, 
in  six  hours  thence  to  Cleaveland,  and  in  two  days  and 
a  half  from  Boston  to  Detroit.  When  they  consider  that 
the  produce  of  the  West  finds  its  best  market  at  Boston* 
and  the  great  staples  of  Boston  their  most  extensive  mar- 
ket at  the  West ;  and  take  into  view  the  slow  and 
circuitous  navigation  which  now  connects  them,  the 
charges  of  insurance,  loss  of  interest,  incidental  expenses, 
and  fluctuations  of  price,  they  cannot  but  regard  this  rail- 

•  See  note  F. 


28 

road  as  a  candidate  for  an  amount  of  business  which  will 
astonish  its  warmest  and  most  sanguine  friends. 

If  the  Worcester  road,  leading  from  Boston  to  the  cen- 
tre of  a  community  whose  exports  to  Boston,  after  the 
rail-road  was  opened,  did  not,  for  a  series  of  years,  exceed 
3,600  tons  per  annum,  and  whose  imports  were  less  than 
18,000  tons  per  year,  during  the  same  period,  has  thus 
far  proved  a  six  per  cent,  stock  j  how  much  more  encour- 
aging than  the  past  experience  of  the  Worcester,  are  the 
present  prospects  of  the  Western,  penetrating  as  it  does, 
before  it  crosses  our  State  line,  a  region  whose  exports 
and  imports  are  148,000  tons  per  year,  and  connecting,  as 
it  must,  at  the  Hudson,  with  a  commerce  equal  to  at  least 
1,000,000  tons  per  annum. 

Your  Committee,  after  a  careful  consideration  of  the 
grades  of  the  rail-road,  the  expenses  of  repairs,  superin- 
tendence and  motive  power,  are  led  unanimously  to  the 
conclusion  that  if  this  rail-road,  when  finished,  can  at- 
tract to  it  one  fifth  of  the  number  of  passengers  and  one 
tenth  part  of  the  freight  now  computed  to  pass  up  and 
down  the  Hudson,  that  the  rate  of  passage  from  Boston 
to  Albany  may  be  safely  fixed  at  $3  j  that  flour  may  be 
transported  between  those  cities  for  50  cents  per  barrel, 
costly  merchandise  at  a  small  advance,  and  that  such  a 
scale  of  charges  will  insure  a  still  larger  amount  of  busi- 
ness, and  yield  the  highest  revenue  permitted  by  the 
charter. 

Your  Committee  are  aware  that  the  proposed  reduction, 
to  give  it  full  effect,  will  require  the  co-operation  of  the 
Worcester  Rail-road,  but  they  doubt  not  the  officers  of 
that  rail-road  will  meet  the  subject  with  a  fair  and  candid 


29 

spirit.      When  the   Western  road  was  opened,  the   di- 
rectors  of    the   Worcester   cheerfully  conceded    to    the 
Western  a  liberal  share  of  the  receipts  upon   the  entire 
route,  and  it  will  be  easy  to  demonstrate  that  the  propos- 
ed reduction,  which  asks  but  a  moderate  concession  from 
the  Worcester,  will  pour  a  flood  of  passengers  over  the 
latter,   and  attract  to  it  from  the   Connecticut,   a  large 
amount  of  descending  freight,  in  which  the  Worcester 
Road  is  at  present  deficient,  it  being  a  singular  fact,  that 
while   in  1839  the  upward  train  of  the  Worcester  rail- 
road carried,  on  an  average,  48  tons,  the  descending  train 
has  conveyed  12  only  ;  and  so  much  return  freight  offers 
at    the    Connecticut,    that   the    tonnage    descending  the 
Western  rail-road  is  equal  to  the  ascending.     Your  Com- 
mittee are  also  of  opinion,  that   the  responsibility  of  the 
measure  they  propose  should  be   taken  by  the  sharehold- 
ers, and  not  cast  upon  the  directors  ;  that  it  is   a  suitable 
subject  for  the   action  of  the   stockholders,  and  may  be 
adopted  without  implying   the   slightest  distrust  of  the 
ability  of  their  officers  or  directors,  whose  whole  atten- 
tion has  been  thus  far  absorbed  by  the   intrinsic  difficul- 
ties of  the  construction  of  a  work  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
Western  rail-road.     They  therefore,  with  great  unanim- 
ity, recommend   that    the    directors,   who  represent  the 
shareholders,  be  instructed  to  reduce  the  charge  for  pas- 
sage between  Worcester  and  Springfield  to  $1  50,  and  to 
take  the  most  efficient  measures  to  bring  the  Worcester 
rail-road   into   such  an  arrangement,  as  will  reduce  the 
entire  charge  between  Boston  and  Springfield,  to  $2J-  for 
each  passenger.     Also  that  they  be  instructed  to  make  a 
suitable  reduction  in  the  charges  between  the  different 


ao 

depots  upon  the  line  of  the  Western  rail-road.  Also  that 
they  be  instructed  to  adopt  the  most  effectual  measures 
to  secure  a  reduction  of  freight,  so  that  the  average 
charge  between  Springfield  and  Boston  shall  not  exceed 
$3J  per  ton,  to  be  apportioned  upon  the  different  articles 
conveyed,  according  to  their  respective  value.* 

And  your  Committee  annex  a  tariff  of  freight,  prepared 
with  much  care,  varying  from  $3i  to  $4J  per  ton,  which 
they  believe  will  effectually  secure  the  objects  they  have 
in  view. 

Your  Committee  would  further  suggest,  that  their  at- 
tention has  been  called  to  the  passenger  depot  at  Worces- 
ter ;  and  after  careful  inquiry,  they  are  satisfied  that  the 
building  erected  by  the  company,  is  well  adapted  to  the 
accommodation  of  the  freight  trains,  and  is  necessary 
therefor,  but  is  not  sufficiently  near  the  centre  of  Worces- 
ter to  accommodate  the  way  travel,  upon  which  they 
place  great  reliance  ;  they  therefore  recommend  that  a 
passenger  depot  should  be  established  in  Worcester,  near 
the  depots  of  the  Norwich  and  Worcester,  and  the  Boston 
and  Worcester  rail-roads,  and  that  efforts  be  made  to 
obtain  the  privilege  of  going  upon  the  Norwich  and  Wor- 
cester rail-road  track,  to  the  depot  for  passengers,  by 
granting  to  the  Norwich  and  Worcester  rail-road  Com- 
pany the  privilege  of  going  on  the  track  of  our  corpora- 
tion for  their  freight. 

They  would  further  suggest  to  the  directors  the  expe- 
diency of  sending  two  trains  of  passenger  cars  daily,  in 
each  direction  over  the  road,  to  leave  Springfield  and 
Boston  in  the  morning  and  afternoon,  so  that  a  passenger 

*  See  note  G. 


31 

may  be  able  to  travel  from  one  end  of  the  route  to  the 
other,  transact  business  and  return  the  same  day. 

They  would  also  suggest  another  improvement  recent- 
ly introduced,  viz.  that  convenient  water  closets  and  a  re- 
tiring room  for  ladies,  be  attached  to  the  new  cars  build- 
ing for  the  road ;  and  that  the  directors  use  their  efforts  to 
induce  the  proprietors  of  the  stages  which  have  been  run- 
ning in  opposition  to  the  rail-road,  to  form  lateral  lines 
connecting  with  towns  on  each  side  of  the  road,  and  to 
establish  continuous  lines  to  Stockbridgeand  Albany,  and 
up  and  down  the  Connecticut  j  and  to  encourage  the  es- 
tablishment upon  that  river  of  regular  lines  of  packet 
boats,  for  the  conveyance  of  merchandise. 

They  would  also  recommend  that  the  documents  an- 
nexed to  this  report,  including  certain  articles  signed  D., 
on  the  subject  of  low  fares,  and  inserted  in  the  Boston 
Atlas  in  August,  1839,  be  published  and  distributed 
among  the  shareholders. 

Your  Committee  further  suggest,  that  they  are  im- 
pressed with  the  vast  importance,  both  to  the  company 
and  the  public,  of  expediting  the  construction  of  the  rail- 
road already  surveyed,  between  the  Western  line  of  the 
State  and  Albany. 

In  addition  to  the  54  miles  of  the  Western  rail-road 
already  used,  they  are  apprised  that  at  least  one-half  of  the 
remaining  62  miles  will  be  opened  for  travel  the  present 
season,  and  the  residue  in  1841.  To  make  the  line  com- 
plete, no  time  is  to  be  lost  in  constructing  the  small  portion 
which  remains  within  the  State  of  New  York,  and  it  would 
be  a  subject  of  deep  regret,  if  after  our  Herculean  under- 
taking is  complete,  after  the  rivers  and  valleys  have  been 
spanned,  two  ranges  of  mountains  crossed  at  vast  expense, 


32 

and  a  rail-road  built  which,  including  the  Worcester,  is  one 
hundred  and  sixty  miles  long,  and  will  have  cost  six  mil- 
lions ;  our  New  York  friends  will  not  raise  one  tenth  of 
that  amount,  to  meet  us  at  the  line  of  their  State,  on  a 
short  and  easy  route,  far  less  expensive  than  our  own. 
But  when  your  Committee  consider  the  enterprise  of  the 
great  State  of  New  York,  the  achievements  in  internal 
improvements  she  has  already  made,  and  the  reputation 
and  profit  she  has  thereby  acquired,  they  feel  persuaded 
the  public  feeling,  as  well  as  the  public  interest,  will 
favor  this  undertaking  ;  and  when  they  reflect  that  this 
road  will  give  to  Albany  two  seaports,  or  rather  two  har- 
bors, and  secure  to  her  an  uninterrupted  communication 
through  the  year  with  New  England,  the  ocean,  and  all 
foreign  nations;  that  it  will  make  her  a  great  central 
city,  it  appears  to  us  that  it  is  only  necessary  to  bring  the 
enterprise  again  before  her  citizens  to  secure  its  accom- 
plishment. 

We  therefore  recommend  to  you  that  a  body  of  dele- 
gates be  appointed   by  the   shareholders,   to  proceed  to 
Albany  and   Troy  as  soon  as  may  be,  to  advocate  the 
speedy  construction  of  this  branch  of  the  rail-road. 
All  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 


STEPHEN  FAIRBANKS, 
WM.  LAWRENCE, 
ISAAC  C.  PRAY, 
JOHN  P.  THORNDIKE, 
DANIEL  HAMMOND, 
NATHAN  CARRUTH, 


MARK  HEALEY, 
CHARLES  STEARNS, 
E.  H.  DERBY, 
THOMAS  C.  SMITH, 
ABRAHAM  T.  LOWE, 
FREEMAN  WALKER, 


Committee. 
BOSTON,  March  12th,  1840. 

Read,  and  unanimously  accepted. 


33 


On  motion  of  P.  P.  F.  Degrand,  Esq.,  Ordered,  that  the 
thanks  of  the  Stockholders  be  presented  to  the  Committee 
of  thirteen,  for  their  able,  lucid  and  convincing  Report, 
and  be  also  presented  to  E.  H.  Derby,  Esq.  for  the  valua- 
ble and  talented  essays  which  accompany  said  report  ;•— 
and  that  the  whole,  together  with  the  foregoing  proceed* 
ings  of  this  meeting,  duty  certified  by  the  President  and 
Clerk,  be  published  in  a  pamphlet  form,  and  be  distribu- 
ted to  the  Governor,  Lieut.  Governor,  Council,  and  mem* 
bers  of  the  Legislature,  and  to  our  Stockholders,  and  to 
the  President  and  Directors  of  the  Boston  and  Worcester 
Rail-road,  and  of  the  Norwich  and  Worcester  Rail-road, 
and  to  the  people  of  Albany  and  Troy; — and  that  the  whole 
be  published  in  the  newspapers)  for  the  information  of 
our  fellow  citizens  generally. 

THOMAS  B.  WALES,  President. 
ELLIS  GRAY  LORING,  Clerk, 


35 


NOTES. 


NOTE  A. 

Letters  have  been  received  by  the  Great  Western,  un- 
der date  of  February  18,  1840,  which  communicate  the 
very  gratifying  intelligence  that  within  twenty  days  prior 
to  the  date  of  the  letter,  £40,000,  5  per  cent.  Massa- 
chusetts State  Stock,  issued  for  the  Western  Rail-road, 
had  been  sold  in  London  at  $102J  per  $100. 


NOTE  B. 

G.  W.  Whistler,  Esq.  engineer  of  the  Western  Rail- 
road furnishes  the  following  statement,  March  4,  1840. 

"  One  of  the  company's  engines  of  10  tons  will  draw 
over  the  highest  grades  between  Boston  and  Springfield, 
59  tons  of  merchandise. 

"  One  of  the  engines  of  14  tons  will  draw  85  tons  of 
merchandise  over  the  same. 

"  The  high  grades  extend  a  very  short  distance,  and 
with  a  little  aid  on  this  part  of  the  route,  the  same  en- 
gines may  accomplish  much  more." 


NOTE  C. 

One  of  the  largest  firms  engaged  in  the  Ice  trade,  in- 
formed the  committee,  that  they  begun  at  Jamaica  by 


36 

selling  ice  at  12J  cents  per  pound,  and  their  receipts  which 
were  $10  to  $12  a  day,  gave  them  a  trifling  gain.  Upon 
reducing  the  charge  four  fifths,  their  sales  rose  to  $35  per 
day,  affording  a  large  profit. 

It  was  also  stated,  that  12,000  tons  of  ice  had  been 
cut,  the  past  season,  at  Mystic  Pcnd,  and  that  the  Lowell 
Rail-road  Company  were  under  a  contract  to  send  their 
locomotive  and  freight  cars  for  it,  and  haul  it  to  the 
wharves  in  Charlestown,  a  distance,  going  and  returning, 
of  13  miles,  for  the  moderate  charge  of  $1  per  car,  or 
33  cents  per  ton.  The  ice  is  sold  at  Charlestown 
per  ton. 


NOTE  D. 

No.  of  passengers  on  the  Boston  and  Worcester  Rail- 
road : 

2d  6  mos.  of  1835,  48,608  at  $1  50. 

1836,  49,932   "      1  50. 

1837,  33,812   "      2  00. 

1838,  33,291   «      2  00. 

1839,  47,701   «      1  50. 

Tons  of  Freight : 

2d  6  mos.  of  1835,  4,860. 

1836,  10,267. 

1837,  10,699. 

Tons  of  freight  for  the  whole  year : 

1835,  9,349. 

1836,  17,228. 

1837,  21,652. 

1838,  24,000. 

1839,  29,000. 


37 

NOTE  E. 
Rail-roads  in  Massachusetts. 

Boston  and  Lowell  Rail-road,  Capital  $1,650,000 

Boston  and  Portland       "  "  &  State  loan,    450,000 

Boston  and  Providence  "  "  1,782,000 

Boston  arid  Worcester    "  "  1,800,000 

Eastern  "  "  &  State  loan,  1,500.000 

Nashua  "  "  do.  *        350,000 

Tannton  Branch  "  "  250,000 

Western  Rail-road,     Capital  and  State  loans,     4,500,000 
Charlestown  Branch  Rail-road,  Capital  100,000 

West  Stockbridge  "  "  30,000 

Q,uincy  Rail-road  and  quarry         "  100,000 

Norwich  and  Worcester  R.  Road,  in  Mass.   Cap.    500,000 
Taunton  &  N.  Bedford       "  Capital,  400,000 


$13,412,000 

Blackstone,  Farmington,  and  Middlesex 
Canals,  and  other  Locks  and  Canals  in 
Massachusetts,.  $1,600,000 


$15,012,000 

The  net  income  of  the  Rail-roads,  fin- 
ished, averages  over  8  per  cent,  per  annum. 


NOTE  F. 

Imports  into  Boston  in  1839,  of  a  few  staple  articles 

Flour,  449,068  bbls. 

Oats,  439,140  bushels. 

Corn,          1,607,492      " 

Coal,  96,000  tons. 

Coal,  30,000  chaldrons. 

Cotton,  94,361  bales. 

Shipping  of  Massachusetts,  500,000  tons. 

*  The  above  loan  is  to  be  paid  off  immediately,  19  years  before  it  is  due. 


38 


NOTE  G. 

[From  the  Philadelphia  U.  S.  Gazette  of  Monday,  March  9, 1840.] 
FLOUR  AND  MEAL  FOR  EXPORT. 

By  reference  to  our  review  of  the  market,  it  will  be 
found  that  the  week's  transactions  in  Flour  have  been 
uncommonly  large,  the  sales  for  export  exceeding  twenty- 
six  thousand  barrels.  Wheat  flour,  in  addition  to  fair 
sales  of  Rye  flour  and  Corn  meal.  We  put  it  upon  re- 
cord, that  forty-eight  thousand  barrels  of  Wheat  flour 
have  been  sold  for  foreign  and  coastwise  shipment  in  this 
market,  within  the  last  two  weeks.  Supplies  have  ar- 
rived freely,  but  the  heavy  operations  have  materially  re- 
duced the  stock. 

Prices  for  all  kinds  of  bread  stuffs  have  declined  in 
the  interior,  and  the  supplies  brought  to  the  seaboard  will 
be  unusually  large.  We  observe  in  the  Pittsburg  Ga- 
zette, that  10,000  barrels  of  flour  are  to  be  shipped  from 
the  Ohio,  between  Pittsburgh  and  Wheeling,  to  New 
York,  by  way  of  New  Orleans  j  the  tolls  on  our  state 
improvements  being  so  high  as  to  prevent  its  being 
brought  in  by  that  route.  Here  is  at  once  a  loss  of  f  8- 
600  to  the  state  in  that  single  transaction.  If  the  tolls 
were  at  once  reduced,  large  supplies  from  the  West  would 
take  the  Pennsylvania  route,  and  the  state  would  derive 
an  increased  revenue. 


39 


RATES  OF  CHARGES  FOR  FREIGHT, 

Proposed  with  a  view  to  increase  the  income  of  the  W.  Rail-road. 


MERCHANDISE. 


BETWEEN 

Boston  and  Springfield. 


BETWEEN 

Worcester  &.  Springfield. 


Bales,  Boxes  and  Packa- 
ges of  Dry  Goods,  Shoes, 
&c.,  bottled  Cider  &  Por- 
ter, Bristles,Brooms,  Can- 
dles, Copper,  Cocoa,  Cor- 
dage, Corks,  Flax,  Fancy 
Goods,  Feathers,  Furs, 
Glass,  Glass  Ware,  Glue, 
Hats,Hams,Hemp,Hops, 
Indigo,  Ivory,  Japanned 
and  Silver  Plated  Ware, 
Jewelry,  Leather,  Live 
Stock,  Paints,  Pianos,  Salt 
Petre,  Seeds,  Shot,  Soap, 
Sperm  Candles,  Saddle- 
ry, Spices,  Teas,  Tobac- 
co, Twine,  Wax,  Whale- 
bone, Wool,  &c. 

Bread,  Barilla,  Bottles, 
Butter,  Copperas,  Cheese, 
Cotton,  Crockery,  Coffee, 
Castings,  Dye  Woods,  Do- 
mestics, Fresh  Fish,  Hard 
ware,  Hides,  Iron,  Maho- 
gany, Nails,Naval  Stores, 
Oil,  Paper,  Pork  in  bulk, 
Rags,  Rice,  Seeds,  Sugar, 
Spirits,  Tin,  Wines, 

Bricks,  Coal,  Freestone, 
Granite,  Grind  Stones, 
Lime,  Marble,  Molasses, 
Pot  &  Pearl  Ashes,  Plas- 
ter, Salt,  Soap  Stone, 
Slate,  &c. 


at  $4  50  per  ton.  at  $2  70  per  ton. 


,at  83  75  per  ton. 


at  $2  25  per  ton, 


,at  $3  25  per  ton. 


at  $1  95  per  ton. 


40 


MERCHANDISE. 

BETWEEN 

Boston  and  Springfield. 

BETWEEN 

Worcester  &  Springfield. 

Flour,  

rat  33  Jets,  pr.bbl. 
1  equal  to  83  33J 
I  per  ton. 

at  20  cts.  per  barrel* 
equal  to  8^  per  ton, 

Alewives,  Ale,Beef,Beer, 
Cider,  Mackerel,  Pork, 
Porter,  Shad,  Salmon,  in 
Barrels. 

Iat  45  cts.  per  bbl. 
equal  to  83  60  pr. 
ton. 

at  27  cts.  pr.  barrel, 
equal  to  82  16  per 
ton. 

Barley,  Buck  Wheat, 
Corn,  Potatoes,  Roots  of 
all  kinds,  RyeWheat,  &c. 
in  bags, 

!at  9  cts.  pr.  bush- 
el, equal  to  $3  60 
per  ton. 

at  5  cts.  pei*  bushel, 
equal  to  82  00  per 
ton. 

{at  6  cts.  per  bush  • 
el,  equal  to  84  00 
per  ton. 

at  3J  cts.  pr.  bushel, 
equal  to  82  33£  per 
ton. 

f  at  8  cts.  per  foot, 
1  equal  to  $3  20  to 
)  86  40  per  ton.  — 
I  Average  $4  80. 

at  5  cents  per  foot, 
equal  to  82  to  4  per 
ton.  Average  83  00 

(8480,83)8180. 

Lumber,  Timber,  &c.  . 

at  $5  per  1000  — 
board  measure  — 
equal  to  at  least 
$3,  and  from  that 
upwards,    to    85 
per  ton.  Average 
perhaps,  84. 

Average  82  40 
per  ton. 
(84-8240=8160) 

Wood,  and  expenses  of 
lading  and  unlading, 

(  at  7  cts.  per  cord, 
(  a  mile. 

Average  82  00 
per  ton. 
($4  00—82=82) 

f  at  82  50  per  head 
J  in  the  best  cars. 
1  at  81  75  in  for- 
(^  ward  cars. 

at  81  50  in  best  cars$ 

at  81  00  in  forward 
cars. 

41 


[From  the  Boston  Atlas.] 


FARE  ON  RAILROADS.— No.  1. 


The  Rail-road  system  of  Massachusetts  is  becoming 
daily  of  greater  importance.  But  few  years  have  elapsed 
since  the  first  feeble  efforts  were  made  to  establish  the 
Worcester  road,  and  many  were  the  clouds  which  obscur- 
ed its  early  prospects.  Some  predicted  it  could  not  resist 
a  northern  winter ;  that  it  would  be  buried  in  the  drifting 
snow ;  that  its  cost  would  vastly  exceed  the  estimate,  and 
the  travel  would  not  support  it.  That  if  ever  feasible,  it 
was  in  advance  of  the  age*  At  one  period  in  its  history, 
a  meeting  was  called  to  arrest  its  progress ;  and  there  is 
no  doubt,  that  many  of  its  most  zealous  advocates  would 
have  sold  their  dividends  for  three  per  cent,  per  annum. 
But  the  road  was  carried  through  and  crowned  with  suc- 
cess. The  enterprise  has  been  followed  by  others,  and 
new  avenues  for  trade  are  now  diverging  in  every  direc- 
tion from  Boston,  overleaping  the  barriers  with  which 
nature  has  shut  out  the  trade  of  the  interior,  and  daily 
widening  the  circle  of  our  commerce.  On  the  one  side 
we  have  reached  Taunton,  Providence  and  Stonington, 
and  are  now  pressing  on  towards  New  Bedford,  Fall 
River  and  Nantucket ;  towns  hitherto  supplied  by  New 
York.  On  the  other,  we  have  reached  Worcester ;  are 
opening  a  new  route  through  the  manufacturing  region 
of  Connecticut,  to  Norwich  and  New  London,  and  from 
Worcester  are  rapidly  approaching  the  great  and  fertile 
valley  of  the  Connecticut  and  the  mighty  West. 
6 


42 

On  the  north,  we  are  slowly  progressing  towards  Con- 
cord, Burlington  and  Montreal.  On  the  north-east,  we 
are  advancing  towards  Exeter,  Dover,  Somersworth,  Ber- 
wick, Rochester,  Centre  Harbor  and  Haverhill,  Coos  and 
upper  Vermont  ;  and  on  the  east,  beyond  Salem,  and 
towards  Newburyport,  Portsmouth  and  Portland. 

The  rail-roads  in  this  State,  will,  within  a  year  from 
this  date,  have  absorbed  a  capital  of  eleven  millions  of 
dollars,  and  their  united  length  will  be  300  miles.  While 
we  admire  these  Herculean  undertakings,  achieved  in  so 
brief  a  period  by  so  small  a  State,  with  so  great  an  outlay 
of  capital  and  so  little  foreign  assistance,  and  while  we 
congratulate  ourselves  that  they  promise  so  good  a  return 
to  the  capitalist,  and  so  great  facilities  to  travellers,  it  is 
well  to  pause  for  a  moment  and  consider  whether  they 
have  answered  all  the  expectations  of  the  public,  and  are 
administered  in  a  manner  most  conducive  to  the  interest 
of  the  stockholders.  To  the  citizens  of  Boston,  this  in- 
quiry is  particularly  interesting,  since  its  prosperity  has 
become  in  a  great  measure  identified  with  these  rail-roads. 
Not  only  are  her  citizens  the  principal  stockholders,  but 
these  roads  all  converge  towards  Boston,  as  a  focal  point, 
and  there  they  are  soon  to  connect  with  the  line  of  steam 
packets,  about  to  be  established  between  Boston  and  Liv- 
erpool. When  these  roads  were  first  contemplated,  and 
the  charters  asked  of  the  Legislature,  the  public  were  pro- 
mised, not  only  a  rapid  passage,  but  also  a  great  reduction 
in  the  charges  for  freight  and  passage.  Has  the  latter 
promise  been  fulfilled  ? 

It  is  with  regret  that  we  answer  this  question  in  the 
negative.  Before  rail-roads  were  established,  the  usual 
charge  for  stage  travelling  in  this  Commonwealth,  varied 
from  4  to  5  cents  per  mile,  and  the  average  charge  may 
be  assumed  to  have  been  5  cents  per  mile.  For  this 
compensation,  the  driver  called  for  the  traveller  at  his 
residence,  received  his  trunk,  and  left  him  at  his  hotel  or 


43 

dwelling  at  the  end  of  the  route.  Several  of  our  leading 
rail-roads  have  made  little  or  no  reduction  from  this 
charge  ;  one  of  them,  in  particular,  which  has  enjoyed  a 
more  liberal  share  of  the  public  patronage  than  it  bids  fair 
to  receive  in  future,  seems  merely  to  have  aimed  at  de- 
stroying all  competition  and  rivalry  by  its  despatch,  with- 
out any  calculation  of  the  benefits  it  would  confer  upon 
the  public,  or  the  remunerating  patronage  it  would  re- 
ceive, from  a  proper  reduction. 

I  do  not  hesitate  to  take  the  ground,  that  the  present 
charges  are  too  high,  both  for  the  interest  of  the  stock- 
holders and  the  public.  It  is  a  general  principle,  recog- 
nized by  all  intelligent  statesmen,  that  the  demand  for 
luxuries  increases  more  rapidly  than  the  cost  declines, 
when  the  reduction  of  price  occurs.  The  aggregate  value 
of  the  sugar,  tea  and  cofTee,  sold  in  England  at  a  low 
price,  greatly  exceeds  the  value  of  the  same  articles  sold 
in  the  same  market,  when  higher  prices  ruled. 

Cheap  amusements  are  the  order  of  the  day.  At  this 
moment,  an  association  is  forming  in  London,  to  build  a 
concert  room  to  accommodate  8000  persons,  at  a  shilling 
each,  with  a  view  to  profit;  and  while  our  own  concert 
rooms  are  nearly  empty  at  a  charge  of  a  dollar,  we  see 
every  week  more  than  10,000  people  attending  our  music 
upon  the  common.  Locomotion  is  the  favorite  recreation 
of  Americans,  and  a  healthful,  innocent,  and  improving 
amusement.  It  is  a  recreation  equally  acceptable  to  the 
rich  and  the  poor,  and  which  all  will  enjoy  in  proportion 
to  their  ability.  In  a  country  where  families  increase  so 
rapidly  as  in  ours,  and  where  the  growth  of  new  villages, 
and  cities,  and  manufactories,  call  the  sons  and  daughters 
from  the  paternal  home,  the  claims  of  kindred  induce  tra- 
velling, and  the  oppressive  heat  of  summer  attracts  crowds 
from  the  cities  into  the  interior,  whose  visits  are  returned 
during  other  seasons  of  the  year. 

To  illustrate  the  fondness  for  locomotion,  and  the  de- 


44 

gree  to  which  it  prevails,  where  the  price  permits,  it  is 
merely  necessary  to  advert  to  the  fact,  that  on  the  4th  of 
July  last,  7000  people  passed  over  the  Eastern  Rail-road, 
at  an  average  charge  of  43  cents  each,  and  2000  made  an 
excursion  to  Nahant,  with  music,  in  a  single  steamer,  at  a 
charge  of  25  cents  each  way.  Or  we  might  instance  the 
lines  of  omnibuses  to  Roxbury,  whose  low  rates  have 
increased  the  travel  at  least  a  thousand  per  cent.  Tra- 
velling, then,  with  us,  is  both  a  luxury  and  necessary, 
and  must  be  progressive  as  the  price  declines.  It  is  ob- 
served, that,  in  this  country,  great  equality  of  conditions 
prevails,  and  the  income  of  the  farmer  and  the  artisan  falls 
but  little  short  of  the  receipt  of  the  three  professions.  All 
classes  travel  more  or  less ;  and  if  travelling  is  reduced, 
so  that  it  shall  cease  to  be  an  expensive  luxury,  they  will 
resort  to  this  pleasing  excitement  in  preference  to  all 
others.  The  experiment  of  low  fares  has  been  success- 
fully tried  in  Belgium,  by  the  government  of  that  coun- 
try, a  rate  has  been  adopted  averaging  1  cent  to  1J  cents 
per  mile,  and  the  result  is  an  increase  of  many  hundred 
per  cent.  In  Belgium,  some  classes  of  passengers  are 
carried  at  the  rate  of  eight  mills  per  mile,  and  by  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Chevalier  de  Gerstner,  it  appears,  that  these 
low  rates  furnish  a  fair  income  to  the  state,  although  the 
cost  of  the  Belgium  roads  is  double  that  of  the  average  of 
American  rail-roads,  and  the  cost  of  sending  a  train  over 
them  is  at  least  equal  to  the  cost  of  a  train  moving  over  our 
own  rail-roads.  Instead  of  adopting  the  liberal  and  enlight- 
ened policy  of  Belgium,  the  directors  of  our  roads  seem  to 
have  in  most  instances,  aimed  at  extracting  as  much  as  pos- 
sible from  each  passenger  j— -  to  have  supposed  they  have 
done  all  that  was  politic  or  advisable,  if  they  have  put  down 
the  competition  of  the  stage  and  the  baggage  waggon  ; — 
to  have  gone  upon  the  assumption,  that  they  accomplished 
every  thing,  if  they  have  received  the  existing  travel,  and 
the  gain  incident  to  increased  speed,  without  taking  at  all 


45 

into  account,  the  vast  travel  they  might  call  into  existence 
by  a  reduced  rate  of  fare,  or  the  attendant  benefits  they 
might  confer  upon  Boston  and  the  State.  D. 


FARE  ON  RAIL-ROADS.— No.  2. 


Is  my  assumption  correct,  that  the  present  rates  are  too 
high  both  for  the  interests  of  the  stockholders  and  the 
public  ?"  I  will  endeavor  to  show  that  it  is  capable  of 
demonstration.  The  Eastern  rail-road  is  a  case  in  point. 
This  road  has  been  in  operation  nearly  a  year.  Its  cost 
has  much  exceeded  the  average  cost  of  roads,  and  as  it 
runs  along  the  seaboard,  its  principal  dependence  must  be 
on  passengers  ;  yet  the  directors  have  boldly  tried  the  ex- 
periment of  a  low  rate  of  fare,  and  have  tried  it  with 
complete  success.  The  ratio  of  increase  has  been  vastly 
greater  than  on  any  other  route  ;  and  singular  as  it  may 
appear,  the  passengers  who  weekly  enter  the  city  by  this 
Eastern  road,  exceed  in  number  those  who  enter  by  all 
the  other  rail-roads.  And  this  road,  with  little  or  no  in- 
come from  freight,  with  an  expensive  ferry,  is  already 
earning  more  than  ten  per  cent,  per  annum. 

What  is  the  cause  of  this  immense  travel,  this  wonder- 
ful increase  ?  It  must  be  ascribed  to  the  reduced  rate  of 
charge  ;  and  so  well  persuaded  of  this  fact  are  the  intelli- 
gent directors  of  the  road,  that  they  have  a  further  reduc- 
tion in  serious  contemplation,  and  the  public  need  not  be 
surprised  if  they  soon  lower  the  charge  to  Salem  to  25 
cents.  What  will  those  old  gentlemen  say  to  this  who 
predicted  at  the  opening  of  the  road  the  rate  would  soon 
rise  to  a  dollar  ?  They  must  feel  they  were  a  little  be- 
hind the  age. 


46 

There  is  one  prevalent  mistake  upon  these  subjects. 
Men  reason  from  experience  in  stage  coaches,  not  in  rail- 
roads ;  the  latter  are  novelties  in  which  few  have  had  ex- 
perience. Now  it  is  susceptible  of  proof  that  no  stage 
coach  carrying  passengers  and  their  trunks  any  consider- 
able distance,  can  live  at  a  charge  less  than  three  cents 
•  per  mile  ;  but  a  rail-road  whose  trains  shall  average  two 
hundred  passengers,  may  pay  its  expenses  at  a  charge  of 
half  a  cent  per  mile,  it  having  been  well  ascertained  by 
the  Chevalier  de  Gerstner,  in  his  recent  tour  through  the 
United  States,  that  the  cost  of  sending  a  train  over  a  rail- 
road is  the  same  throughout  Belgium  and  the  United 
States,  viz.  $1  per  mile,  and  a  single  train  can  easily 
transport  two  hundred  passengers.  It  may  be  assumed, 
therefore,  that  a  rail-road  which  can  command  200  pas- 
sengers to  a  train,  may  transport  them  100  miles  at  an 
expense  of  50  cents  each,  and  in  such  case  may  carry 
them  without  loss  at  one  sixth  part  of  the  expense  of 
each  to  a  stage  coach.  This  difference  allows  great  lee- 
way for  a  reduction  from  the  stage  coach  rate,  and  it  is 
apparent  that  a  road  may  prove  profitable  in  a  populous 
country  at  the  low  rate  of  a  cent  per  mile  ;  and  as  there 
is  scarcely  any  limit  to  the  capacity  of  a  railway  for  trans- 
porting passengers,  it  follows  of  course  that  a  population 
sufficient  in  numbers  and  wealth  to  supply  travellers,  is 
all  that  is  requisite  to  insure  the  success  of  a  railway  at  a 
very  low  rate  of  fare.  I  would  not  advocate,  in  the  pres- 
ent state  of  our  population,  the  adoption  of  this  extreme 
low  rate,  but  I  would  contend  that  three  cents  per  mile 
should  be  the  highest  charge  upon  any  of  the  railways  of 
Massachusetts,  and  that  this  rate  should  be  occasionally 
reduced  when  we  are  to  compete  with  our  sister  states  on 
nearly  equal  terms  for  the  trade  of  the  interior.  But  it 
may  be  said  that  the  Providence  road,  with  high  charges, 
has  thus  far  made  the  highest  dividends.  This  is  tme^ 
but  it  does  not  affect  the  truth  of  my  position,  for  its  sue- 


47 

cess  is  obviously  ascribable  to  other  causes.  It  has  de- 
rived an  immense  patronage  from  the  steamboat  competi- 
tion on  the  Sound.  It  is  at  present  the  only  feasible 
route  between  New  York  and  Boston.  Its  supply  of  pas- 
sengers to  and  from  New  York  is  water  borne  through 
the  Sound  at  a  charge  varying  from  3-4ths  of  a  cent  to 
2  1-4  cents  per  mile,  and  accomplishing  the  principal  part 
of  the  distance  at  a  low  rate,  they  reluctantly  pay  the  ex- 
tra tax  of  the  Providence  r"oad ;  but  this  high  rate  invites 
competition,  and  has  conduced  wonderfully  to  the  build- 
ing of  the  Norwich  road ;  and  the  opening  of  the  latter 
must  soon  reduce  the  rate,  or  leave  the  Providence  road  a 
beggarly  account  of  empty  cars.  The  Providence  road 
will,  then,  if  it  reduces,  hold  a  divided  empire  over  the 
New  York  travel,  securing  of  course  a  considerable  propor- 
tion of  it,  as  it  is  most  direct ;  but  it  will  find  in  this  very 
reduction  a  new  source  of  income  in  the  general  increase 
of  travel.  Let  the  rate  between  Boston  and  Providence 
be  reduced,  as  it  should  be,  to  $1  25  for  passage,  and  the 
charge  for  freight  reduced  to  $2  1-2  per  ton,  about  the 
rate  now  charged  by  the  Lowell  road,  and  the  reduction 
will  produce  a  wonderful  accession  of  patronage  ;  the 
local  travel  along  the  route  and  between  the  termini  will 
wonderfully  increase.  When  the  Providence  trader  can 
come  to  Boston  and  buy  his  goods  at  less  expense  of  time 
and  money  than  at  New  York,  he  will  come  often,  will 
buy  large  quantities  of  merchandise  here,  and  send  it 
home  over  the  road,  which  he  is  deterred  from  doing 
now  by  the  high  rate  of  charges.  At  present  he  can  send 
his  goods  from  New  York  to  Providence,  180  miles,  for 
less  than  one  half  the  price  charged  for  43  miles  only  on 
the  Providence  road  ;  and  who  sees  a  Providence  custo- 
mer in  Boston  ?  This  road,  for  the  purposes  of  com- 
merce, has  thus  far  been  of  little  or  no  service  to  Boston, 
and  one  may  almost  imagine  he  can  see  a  New  York  in- 
fluence in  its  management ;  for  the  New  Yorker,  in  his 


48 

private  speculations,  keeps  constantly  in  view  the  pros* 
perity  of  the  city  he  inhabits. 

What  bearing  has  the  history  of  the  Worcester  road 
upon  this  subject  ?  The  Directors  originally  put  the  fare 
at  $1  50,  and  subsequently,  at  a  period  of  great  depres- 
sion, raised  the  rate  to  $2.  A  little  experience  has  shown 
that  they  gained  nothing  by  the  advance.  Many  were 
deterred  from  travelling ;  stages  began  to  interfere  with 
the  road,  and  not  a  few  of  the  early  friends  and  patrons 
of  the  road  became  disaffected ;  and  the  result  has  been 
that  the  directors  have  recently  found  it  the  wisest  policy 
to  recede  to  the  original  rate ;  and  even  this  will  be  found 
too  high  when  the  Western  road  shall  connect  it  with 
those  great  channels  of  travel,  the  valley  of  the  Connecti- 
cut and  the  Mohawk.  Thus  far  this  road  has  come  in 
contact  with  a  sparse  population  only  j  it  will  soon  reach 
two  of  the  great  arteries  of  travel,  and  it  will  depend 
in  a  great  measure  upon  the  directors  of  the  Worcester 
and  Western  road,  whether  this  travel  shall  be  directed 
to  Boston, 


FARE  ON  RAIL-ROADS.— No.  3. 


The  rates  of  freight  differ  upon  our  several  roads  j 
Upon  the  Lowell  and  Worcester  roads  they  are  lowest, 
viz  :  on  the  Lowell  a  little  less  and  on  the  Worcester  a 
little  over  8  cents  per  ton  a  mile  j  on  the  Providence  as 
high  as  twelve  cents  per  ton  a  mile,  or  fifty  per  cent, 
more  than  the  Lowell,  and  Worcester,  beside  an  extra 
charge  on  many  specific  articles ;  this  operates  as  a  heavy 
tax  on  the  transit  of  merchandise,  and  materially  checks 
the  transportation  upon  the  road.  But  it  may  be  urged 


49 

rail-roads  derive  their  principal  profit  from  passengers, 
they  can  make  little  or  nothing  upon  freight.  To  a  cer- 
tain extent  this  may  be  true.  If  the  charges  are  so  high 
that  little  is  forwarded,  and  a  train  capable  of  carrying 
100  tons,  is  daily  sent  over  the  road  with  20  or  30  only, 
little  profit  can  be  made,  as  the  expense  of  the  train  is 
not  materially  diminished  by  the  reduction  of  the  quan- 
tity, except  with  respect  to  the  charges  of  lading,  un- 
lading, and  weighing. 

On  the  Lowell  road  full  trains  are  sent  every  day  over 
the  road,  and  it  has-  almost  entirely  superseded  the  canal. 
It  may  be  inferred,  from  the  recent  reports  to  the  Legisla- 
ture, that  the  entire  expense  of  transporting  a  ton  over 
this  road  does  not  exceed  82  cents,  and  as  the  expense 
of  weighing,  lading  and  unlading  and  delivery,  may  be 
estimated  at  37£  cents  per  ton,  the  actual  cost  of  trans- 
portation cannot  much  exceed  45  cents  per  ton,  and  pos- 
sibly is  less.  Thus  conducted,  the  road  derives  a  net 
profit  of  about  $50,000  a  year  from  its  freight,  a  large 
part  of  its  income,  materially  accommodating  the  public, 
and  greatly  enlarging  its  own  revenue.  Supposing  the 
rate  of  expense  to  be  the  same  on  the  Providence  road, 
the  actual  cost  of  sending  a  full  train  of  merchandise  over 
the  road,  would  be  about  $1  06  per  ton,  and  a  charge  of 
$2  40  per  ton,  which  is  the  steamboat  charge  from  New 
York  to  Providence,  nearly  200  miles,  would  afford  a 
liberal  return.  It  is  estimated  now,  that  not  one  fifth  of 
the  merchandise  passing  between  Boston  and  New  York, 
goes  over  this  road ;  a  large  proportion  of  the  traffic  be- 
tween Canton  and  the  various  towns  on  the  route  and 
the  seaboard,  is  conducted  by  wagons,  and  the  present 
charges  must  operate  nearly  as  an  interdict  on  the  trade 
between  Boston,  Providence,  and  Taunton.  The  latter 
towns  receive  their  supplies  by  water  much  cheaper  from 
New  York  than  Boston,  and  when  the  New  Bedford  road 
is  opened,  her  position  will  be  similar.  Let  the  rate  be 
7 


50 

reduced  at  least  one  half,  and  an  active  and  bustling  com- 
merce must  spring  np  between  these  flourishing  towns, 
a  great  accession  of  freight  be  received  by  the  road,  and 
this  collateral  benefit  gained,  that  every  ton  of  freight 
will  secure  additional  passengers.  Thus  far  the  Worces- 
ter road  has  had  an  apology  for  charging  as  above,  be- 
cause no  sufficient  return  freights  offer  at  Worcester. 
While  the  ascending  trains  average  48  tons,  the  descend- 
ing trains  brings  but  12  back,  the  cost  of  transportation  is 
of  course  enhanced.  When  the  road  reaches  Springfield, 
a  low  rate  for  descending  produce  and  goods  will  doubt- 
less command  full  trains,  and  a  proportionate  reduction 
may  be  made.  An  average  charge  of  $4  or  $5  per  ton 
from  Boston  to  Springfield,  will  be  proportionate  to  the 
sum  indicated  for  the  Providence  road,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  this  or  a  lower  rate  will  be  adopted.  D. 


FARE  ON  RAIL-ROADS.— No.  4. 


The  great  Western  road  of  Massachusetts  rapidly  ap- 
proaches completion.  Within  six  weeks  it  will  be  opened 
to  Springfield,  and  the  fertile  and  extensive  valley  of  the 
Connecticut  will  at  length  find  an  eastern  outlet.  The 
ensuing  year  will  witness  the  completion  of  this  road  to 
the  Hudson,  its  connexion  with  the  railways  and  canals 
of  New  York,  and  it  may  safely  be  predicted,  that  within 
the  year  1841,  the  traveller  and  the  mail  will  pass  from 
Boston  to  Detroit  within  sixty  hours.  The  importance 
of  this  road,  is,  and  has  been  appreciated  by  the  public, 
and  deep  solicitude  has  been  felt  for  its  success.  Ail 
doubts  as  to  its  completion  seem  now  to  be  dispelled ;  the 
persevering  spirit  of  its  originators,  the  liberal  aid  of  the 


51 

State,  and  the  judicious  management  by  the  directors  of 
their  scrip  in  London,  insure  its  successful  progress. 

Neither  can  any  doubt  remain  as  to  the  wonderful  de- 
spatch it  will  give  both  to  travel  and  trade.  The  ques- 
tion which  now  arises,  is  not  whether  it  shall  be  finished, 
but  how  it  shall  be  made  most  available  to  the  share- 
holder and  the  public.  The  management  of  the  road, 
when  finished,  is  full  as  important  as  its  construction. 
In  vain  will  the  millions  invested  in  this  costly  enterprise 
have  been  expended,  if  the  charges  shall  be  such  as  to 
prevent  or  materially  restrict  its  use. 

There  is  a  community  of  interest  between  the  entire 
State  and  the  shareholders,  that  this  road  should  concili- 
ate to  Boston  the  trade  of  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut, 
and  a  liberal  share  of  the  commerce  of  the  North  and 
West. 

The  success  of  this  noble  avenue  must  very  much  de- 
pend upon  successful  rivalry  of  Boston  with  New  York, 
for  the  trade  of  the  vast  and  fertile  regions  bordering  on 
the  Connecticut,  the  Mohawk  and  the  lakes.  It  is  easy 
to  demonstrate,  that  this  traffic  cannot  be  conciliated 
unless  a  low  scale  of  charges  be  adopted ;  and  the  profit 
of  the  road  must  spring  from  a  moderate  per  centage  upon 
a  large  amount  of  business. 

With  such  a  scale,  only,  can  Boston  compete  success- 
fully with  New  York.  This  great  avenue  to  the  west 
passes  within  twenty-eight  miles  of  Hartford,  the  present 
head  of  navigation,  and  at  Springfield  strikes  a  point 
easily  accessible  from  New  York.  The  distance  from 
Springfield  to  New  York  is  but  125  miles,  and  the  fare 
by  the  river  steamboats  to  New  York,  is  but  $3,  viz.  $1 
to  Hartford,  and  $2  from  Hartford  to  New  York.  Will  it 
answer,  then,  to  put  the  fare  between  Boston  and  Spring- 
field above  $3  ?  If  the  country  trader,  descending  the 
valley  of  the  Connecticut,  and  arriving  at  Springfield, 
shall  find  that  he  can  reach  New  York  at  a  less  rate  than 


52 

Boston,  and  can  bring  his  merchandise  from  the  former 
at  a  less  freight  than  from  the  latter,  towards  which  will 
he  turn  his  face  ?  It  requires  no  astrologer  to  answer  this 
question.  But  let  the  fares  be  the  same,  and  let  the 
charge  of  freight  be  even  a  trifle  more  from  Boston  by 
the  rail-road,  the  latter  will  have  this  advantage ;  it  is 
30  miles  nearer  Springfield,  the  journey  may  be  accom- 
plished in  six  hours  only,  and  merchandise  received  the 
same  day  it  is  purchased.  In  distance,  as  well  as  in  win- 
ter facilities,  Boston  will  have  the  superiority,  and  this 
must  be  maintained  by  a  cautious  adjustment  of  the  tolls. 
Still  more  important  will  this  become,  when  the  Western 
road  shall  strike  the  Hudson  River,  and  tap  that  immense 
stream  of  trafiic  and  travel  which  now  brings  so  rich  a 
tribute  into  our  sister  city,  New  York.  When  the  entire 
road  shall  be  finished,  ten  hours  will  suffice  to  carry  the 
traveller  from  Boston  to  the  Hudson,  the  same  period 
required  by  the  fleetest  steamboat  for  its  passage  down 
the  Hudson.  Through  the  entire  year,  then,  the  road, 
with  respect  to  speed,  will  compare  probably  with  the 
Hudson,  and  will  not,  like  the  Hudson,  be  sealed  up  by 
winter.  But  the  usual  cost  of  a  passage  on  the  Hudson 
is  but  $3,  from  Albany  to  New  York ;  and  the  15  or 
20,000  passengers  who  are  weekly  borne  between  Hud- 
son, Albany  and  New  York,  in  fifteen  spacious  steamers 
and  seven  barges,  which  daily  ply  between  these  points, 
besides  the  crowds  who  sail  in  the  fleets  of  sloops  that 
whiten  the  river,  pay  no  more. 

This  travel  is  constantly  increasing  ;  every  link  com- 
pleted in  the  western  chain  of  roads  gives  a  contribution 
to  it,  and  every  village  planted  in  the  west  adds  its  trib- 
ute. How  is  a  fair  proportion  of  this  travel  to  be  drawn 
over  the  western  road  ?  It  can  be  drawn  by  a  low  rate 
of  tolls  only. 

Some  gentlemen  of  fortune,  who  have  travelled,  but 
have  not  studied  this  subject,  will  reply  that  a  small  dif- 


53 

ference  in  charges  will  not  affect  the  travel ;  that  if  they 
wished  to  visit  Boston,  they  should  not  be  controlled  by 
one  or  two  dollars  excess  of  charge.  A  man  of  fortune 
might  not  regard  it,  but  the  majority  of  our  travellers  are 
not  men  of  fortune ;  they  understand  the  uses  and  value 
of  money,  and  attach  a  value  to  the  fractions  of  a  dollar ; 
they  forget  not  the  maxim  of  the  sage  and  philosophic 
Franklin,  that  a  "  penny  saved  is  a  penny  gained ;"  and 
where  different  markets  offer  equal  attractions,  they  are 
determined  by  the  difference  of  cost. 

The  suggestion  I  am  about  to  make  is  a  startling  one, 
but,  after  due  reflection,  I  am  satisfied  it  is  correct.     I 
would  propose  that  a  concerted  arrangement  be  made  by 
the  three  companies  who  form  the  chain  of  roads  from 
Boston  to  Albany,  to  put  the  fare  for  the  entire  route  at 
$3  as  soon  as  the  roads  are  finished.     Then   the  roads 
will  compete,  both  in  speed  and  in  price,  with  the  Hudson  ; 
and  I  contend  this  rate  will  give  to  the  entire  route  the 
greatest  income.     The  cost  of  sending  a  train  over  a 
railway  is,  according  to   the  Chevalier  de  Gerstner,  both 
in  Belgium  and  America,  $1  per  mile,  and  such  train  may 
with  ease  carry  250  passengers,  weighing,  with  their  bag- 
gage,  but  20  tons.      The  whole  cost  of   sending  this 
train  from  Boston  to  Albany,  200  miles,  will  be  but  $200 ; 
and  if  the  trains  should  be  so  arranged  (as  they  may  be) 
to  average  200  passengers,  the  entire  expense  will  be  but 
one  dollar  per  passage,  leaving  a  clear  profit  of  $2  per 
head  at  a  charge  of  three  dollars.     At  this  rate,  6000  pas- 
sengers per  week,  the  number  which   travels  over  our 
Eastern  road,  would  give  a  net  income  of  $624,000  per 
year,  independent  of  freight,  or  9  1-2  per  cent,  per  annum 
on  the  entire  cost  of  the  three  roads. 
The  Worcester  having  been  estimated  to  cost  $1,700,000 
The  Western,  .  .  .  4,200,000 

The  Albany,  .  .  .  700,000 


$6,600,000 


54 

And  at  this  rate,  with  corresponding  rates  of  freight,  it 
is  safe  to  predict  the  number  of  passengers  would  exceed 
6000  per  week,  or  500  each  way  per  diem.  If  this  com- 
putation be  accurate,  the  roads  would  well  afford  to  trans- 
port merchandise  at  a  moderate  advance  on  the  estimated 
expense  of  sending  it  on  full  trains,  and  a  double  track 
would  soon  become  necessary  to  prevent  an  excess  of 
profit  over  the  rates  indicated  by  the  charters. 

This  result  is  brilliant  indeed,  but  its  very  brilliancy 
may  alarm  the  reader ;  can  such  moderate,  such  inconsid- 
erable charges  produce  such  immense  results.  To  avert 
the  suspicion  of  being  a  theorist  or  a  visionary,  I  will  en- 
deavor to  anticipate  and  to  answer  the  objections  which 
may  be  made.  And  first,  would  there  be  travel  enough 
to  furnish  6000  passengers  per  week  ?  I  answer,  the  es- 
timate is  too  low.  What  route  in  New  England  com- 
pares with  the  Hudson  in  amount  of  travel  and  trade.  A 
careful  computation  rates  the  present  travel  on  that 
stream  at  15,000  per  week,  and  in  the  natural  course  of 
things,  it  must  increase  next  year.  Is  it  not  safe  to  pre- 
sume that  a  route  to  Boston  equally  cheap  and  expedi- 
tious, will  command  one  fourth  that  amount  of  travel  ? 
Why  not  ?  Boston  is  the  seat  of  the  domestic  manufac- 
tures ;  they  may  be  bought  here  five  per  cent,  cheaper 
than  in  New  York  •  it  is  the  centre  of  the  fisheries,  and 
two  hundred  miles  nearer  England,  with  which  it  will 
soon  be  united  by  a  semi-monthly  line  of  steamers.  It 
is  the  best  mart  for  Western  produce.  If  the  travel  be- 
tween the  Hudson  and  Boston  should  be  but  4000  per 
week,  surely  2000  per  week  is  a  low  estimate  for  the 
local  travel,  when  the  fare  falls  to  less  than  two  cents  per 
mile,  half  the  present  rate  on  the  Worcester  road.  Is  the 
eastern  route  to  be  compared  with  this  ?  Can  the  little 
towns  of  Lynn,  Salem,  Danvers,  Newburyport  and  Ports- 
mouth, furnish  more  than  three  times  the  travel  which 
will  be  supplied  by  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut,  and 


55 

the  flourishing  counties  which  line  the  road.  Instead  of 
6000,  the  presumption  is  that  the  number  will  be  8000  or 
9000  per  week.  Again,  can  a  train  carry  200  passengers 
over  the  high  grades  of  the  road  ?  The  weight  of  such 
passengers  and  baggage  would  not  exceed  16  tons,  and 
one  of  the  improved  engines  just  finished  for  the  Western 
road,  has  drawn  300  tons  in  one  train  over  the  Lowell 
road,  as  an  experiment ;  and  if  it  should  be  retarded  at 
all  in  ascending  the  high  grades,  which  are  but  of  moder- 
ate length,  its  superior  power  would  make  up  the  loss  of 
time  on  the  level  and  descending  portions  of  the  route. 

Have  I  not  taken  repairs  and  contingent  expenses  into 
account  ?  In  the  estimate  of  a  dollar  per  mile  by  the 
Chevalier  de  Gerstner,  as  the  cost  of  a  train,  I  understand 
the  wear  and  tear  of  the  engine  and  cars,  and  other  cur- 
rent expenses,  to  be  included  ;  but  if  they  are  not,  the 
profits  of  freight  must  be  more  than  sufficient  to  cover 
them  and  the  repairs  of  the  road,  leaving  the  net  income 
from  passengers  a  clear  revenue. 

The  act  of  the  Legislature  granting  the  last  loan  to  the 
Western  road,  virtually  restricts  the  income  to  seven  per 
cent.,  and  the  proprietors  can  gain  nothing  if  the  income 
should  exceed  six,  inasmuch  as  the  loan  of  the  State  is 
at  5  per  cent.,  and  the  income  of  the  road  at  6  per  cent., 
would  pay  the  interest  on  the  loan  to  the  State,  and  7 
per  cent,  to  the  proprietors,  partly  in  dividends,  and  partly 
by  the  creation  of  a  sinking  fund.  As  respects  the  West- 
ern road,  therefore,  my  calculations  of  profit  may  be  re- 
duced one  third,  and  still  the  highest  rate  of  revenue  per- 
mitted by  law,  be  realized  by  the  stockholders.  I  do  not 
hesitate,  therefore,  to  propose,  that  on  the  opening  of  the 
Western  road  to  Springfield,  the  fare  from  Worcester  to 
Springfield  be  put  at  $1  50  or  less,  and  the  charge  for 
freight  at  $2  00,  and  that  efforts  be  made  to  bring  the 
Worcester  road  into  a  corresponding  arrangement. 

The  directors  of  the  Worcester  road  are  beginning  to 


56 

appreciate  the  benefits  of  low  fares :  their  receipts  during 
July  have  averaged  about  $5000  per  week,  at  the  reduced 
rates,  being  $1000  per  week  more  than  their  average  re- 
ceipts during  the  past  year.  Although  a  portion  of  this 
may  be  ascribed  to  the  summer  travel,  it  warrants  me  in 
saying  they  have  increased  their  revenue  by  the  reduction 
of  their  charges  ;  and  my  knowledge  of  the  intelligence 
and  liberality  of  this  Board,  assures  me  that  they  will 
cheerfully  make  an  equitable  arrangement  as  to  tolls  with 
the  directors  of  the  Western  road.  A  further  reduction 
of  fare  and  freight,  attendant  on  the  opening  of  the  Nor- 
wich and  Western  roads,  would  unquestionably  bring  a 
great  accession  of  travel  to  the  Worcester  line,  and  swell 
its  1000  passengers  per  week  at  $2,  to  thousands  at  re- 
duced fares.  But  if  there  were  a  doubt  as  to  the  policy 
of  establishing  such  rates  on  the  Western  road,  the  wishes 
of  the  share-holders  should  be  consulted,  and  those  wishes 
are  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  experiment.  Who  are  the 
proprietors  of  the  road  ?  They  are  the  enterprising  mer- 
chants, manufacturers,  and  artisans  of  Massachusetts : 
they  took  their  shares  not  with  a  view  to  profit,  but  the 
advancement  of  commerce,  and  the  development  of  the 
resources  of  the  State  ;  their  interests  are  identified  with 
the  interests  of  the  public,  and  whatever  promotes  the  one 
conduces  to  the  other. 

The  interests  of  the  public  point  to  reduced  rates  of 
fare  ;  I  trust  they  will  be  consulted.  D.   j 


Y.C 


Gaylamount 
Pamphlet 

Binder 
Gaylord  Bros..  Inc. 

Stockton,  Calif. 
T.  M.  Reg.  U.S.  Pat.  Off. 


M9293G 


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